As spring brings a splash of colour back to the British landscape, arguably there are no springtime flowers as strangely striking as the velvety purple Pasqueflower.
So, what is a the Easter flower, how is it potentially poisonous and what is the Poison Garden team here at The Alnwick Garden doing to ensure its protection for future generations?
A plant with roots in Christian symbolism, the Pasqueflower synonymous with Easter and is often used in church displays during Lent and Easter. Its purple hues (representative) to the liturgical colour of penitence and mourning, which is worn in churches during the Lenten season, leading up the Christ’s crucifixion. Its emergence in barren landscapes at the end of winter, serves as a living symbol of resurrection, representing the stone rolling away from the tomb and the coming of new life.
Botanically known as Pulsatilla Vulgaris, the Pasqueflower belongs to the buttercup family, Ranunculaceae, which includes many beautiful yet poisonous flowering plants.
The Pasqueflower contains protoanemonin, a compound released by the plant when it is crushed or damaged. On contact with the skin, the substance can cause burning sensations, blistering and dermatitis. If that wasn’t bad enough, when ingested, even the smallest amount can cause severe irritation to the mouth and throat, nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea, with extreme cases siting side effects of convulsions and respiratory distress. Luckily, they are said to have a bitter, repulsive taste.
These silken-haired purple wildflowers are native to Europe and parts of the UK, including Northumberland, where they thrive in chalky soil and barren limestone grasslands. However, due to the degradation of their habitats and changes in the land use, these flowers are now rare in the wild and are listed as a Priority Species under the UK Biodiversity Action Plan.
Most surviving wild colonies are found on protected grasslands and nature reserves, where they are carefully monitored each spring, but here at The Alnwick Garden, we have two species within the gates of our very own Poison Garden. The Poison Garden contains over 100 species of Poisonous Plants, carefully cared for and protected by our gardeners, but also studied by our Poison Garden guides.
Although gore and gruesome, the Poison Garden is an essential part of our charitable mission, ensuring that we protect endangered plants, protect the public by educating them about drugs and informing them on the dangers that potentially lurk in their own back gardens to ultimately keep the public safe! Head Guide at The Poison John Knox said, ‘we aren’t trying to scare people from having them, but educate, so they can have this flower safely in their garden.’
Keep your eye out for the Pasqueflower this Easter and always remember the cardinal Poison Garden rule, no pickin’, no lickin’!
Check out what we’ve got planned for you and the family as we approach the most magical time of the year!
