Lunaria annua

''Lunaria annua'', called honesty or annual honesty in English, is a species of flowering plant in the cabbage and mustard family Brassicaceae. It is native to the Balkans and south west Asia, and cultivated throughout the temperate world.

Description

It is an annual or biennial growing to tall by broad, with large, coarse, pointed oval leaves with marked serrations. The leaves are hairy, the lower ones long-stalked, the upper ones stalkless.Parnell, J. and Curtis, T. 2012 ''Webb's An Irish Flora.'' Cork University Press In spring and summer it bears terminal racemes of white or violet flowers, followed by showy, green through light brown, translucent, disc-shaped silicles (not true botanical seedpods). When a silicle is ripe and dry, a valve on each of its sides readily falls off, and its seeds fall off a central membrane which has a silvery sheen, in diameter; the membrane can persist on a plant throughout a winter depending on the weather. These silicles are much used in dry floral arrangements.

Etymology

The Latin name ''lunaria'' means "moon-shaped" and refers to the shape and appearance of this species' silicles. The common name "honesty" arose in the 16th century, and may also relate to the translucence of its silicle membranes. In South East Asia, it is called the "money plant" and in the United States it is commonly known as "silver dollars", "Chinese money", or "Chinese coins" because its silicle membranes have the appearance of silvery coins. For the same reason, in French it is known as ''monnaie du pape'' ("Pope's money"). In Denmark it is known as ''judaspenge'' and in Dutch-speaking countries as ''judaspenning'' (both meaning "coins of Judas"), an allusion to the story of Judas Iscariot and the thirty pieces of silver he was paid for betraying Christ.

Symbolism

In the language of flowers, the plant represents honesty, money, and sincerity. In witchcraft, the honesty plant is considered protective, being thought to keep away monsters. The plant is also used in spells for prosperity, the flat pods (when ripe and silvery) resembling coins and therefore being seen as symbolising promises of wealth. In the earliest surviving recipe for a flying ointment (recorded by Bavarian physician Johannes Hartlieb circa 1440), ''Lunaria'' is included as the herbal ingredient corresponding astrologically to the moon and therefore to be picked on the lunar day of Monday.

Cultivation

This plant is easy to grow from seed and tends to naturalize. It is usually grown as a biennial, being sown one year to flower the next. It is suitable for cultivation in a shady or dappled area, or in a wildflower garden, and the flowers and dried silicles are often seen in flower arrangements. Numerous varieties and cultivars are available, of which the white-flowered ''L. annua'' var. ''albiflora'' and the variegated white ''L. alba'' var. ''albiflora'' 'Alba Variegata' have won the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.

Gallery

File:Lunaria annua seeds J3.JPG, Unripe seedpod in July
Image:Lunaria annua detail.jpg, Detail of flower
Image:Lunaria_annua_chile.JPG, White-flowered form
File:Lunaria annua storage roots.jpg, Storage roots at the end of first growth period

See also

* Dame's violet, ''Hesperis matronalis'', a similar and related plant, but with long cylindrical seedpods instead of flat papery disks
* ''Lunaria rediviva'', perennial honesty
* ''Pilea peperomioides'', another plant known colloquially as the Chinese money plant

References

External links

Jepson Manual Treatment

USDA Plants Profile

Photo gallery

{{Taxonbar, from=Q240620

Annual plants
Biennial plants
Brassicaceae
Garden plants
Plants described in 1753
Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus