Lunaria annua
(Honesty)
Family - Brassicaceae
Category - Annual, biennial
Origin - Europe
Year of Introduction - 1595
Season of Interest - Spring, Summer, Autumn
Hardiness - H6
Height - 75cm or more
Width - 30cm
Description: An annual or Biennial plant with an upright, bushy habit. Mid to dark green leaves are ovate to heart-shaped with pointed tips and coarsely toothed margins. Cross-shaped flowers are variable in colour and usually found in shades of lilac-purple to bright magenta-purple. The flowers are held in panicles on upright stems and are produced from late spring into early summer. Attractive to pollinating insects. Lunaria annua is often grown for the attractive, papery, translucent seedheads that are round in shape and silvery in colour. The seedheads are excellent for drying if cut when still green.
The genus name Lunaria is a reference to the moon-like appearance of the seedheads.
Synonym - Lunaria biennis
Additional common names - Satin Flower, Money Plant, Moonwort
Flower:
Cruciform flowers are variable in colour and found in shades of lilac-purple to bright magenta-purple. (Plants with an undesirable colour form should not be allowed to set seed.) The flowers are held in panicles on upright stems and are produced in May and June. The flowers are followed by attractive, papery seedheads that are translucent, round in shape and silvery in colour.
Flower colour: Purple
Flower shape: Cruciform flowers held in panicles
Flowering time: May, June
Foliage:
Mid to dark green leaves are ovate to Cordate in shape with pointed tips and Dentate margins. The leaves can be held in opposite pairs or Alternately arranged on the upright stems. The leaves remain Evergreen over the winter when grown as a Biennial.
Foliage Senescence: Deciduous to evergreen
Foliage Shape: Ovate to cordate
Propagation:
Cultivation:
Best in full sun to partial shade in fertile, moisture-retentive soil that is well-drained.
