Pasque Flower  Pulsatilla vulgaris (Anemone pulsatilla)

Pulsatilla is a genus that contains about 33 species of herbaceous perennials native to meadows and prairies of North America, Europe, and Asia. The genus name comes from the Latin meaning that it sways in the wind. Common names include pasque flower (or pasqueflower), wind flower, prairie crocus, Easter Flower, and meadow anemone. Several species are valued ornamentals because of their finely-dissected leaves, solitary bell-shaped flowers, and plumed seed heads. Interestingly enough the showy part of the flower consists of sepals, not petals.

Pasque Flowers (from the Old French word for Easter) are one of the joys of spring. Their large, cupped blooms open above clumps of feathery, silver foliage and are succeeded by silky seed heads. Moist but well-drained soil is their only requirement.