A magenta-purple flower of Pulsatilla vulgaris (pasqueflower)

Fluff, Glorious Fluff!

Posted on by Ann Mackay

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We may think of flowers as firstly a visual delight, but they can appeal to the sense of touch too. That’s very much the case with these pasqueflowers (Pulsatilla vulgaris) that have just started to open their fluffy blooms. The flowers themselves are a jewel-bright purple/pink, making them eye-catching, and their soft fluff makes them enticing to the fingers too.

Magenta-purple flowers of Pulsatilla vulgaris (pasqueflower)
Left: The bright colour makes it harder to see the hairs, but you’ll feel them if you reach out and touch. Right: Fluffy bracts cocoon the opening buds.

The backs of the flower’s petals (actually sepals – pasqueflowers don’t have true petals) are covered in fine hairs that can become almost invisible against the flower’s rich colour. Bracts below the flower are more noticeably covered in a slightly longer fluff, which, no doubt, provides protection from cold for the developing buds. The stems and leaves are hairy too, as are the seed heads later. (The hairs on the seeds help them to disperse in the wind.)

A pasqueflower bud.
Their fine furry coats protect pasqueflowers against cold weather, dehydrating winds, and hungry creatures.

The silky hairs are a delightful invitation to stroke the plant, so I am planning to grow some right at the front of a border, where they will be easy to reach. It’s a simple pleasure, but one that brings a smile and the chance to have a closer look at this lovely plant. In fact, I’m smiling right now because I have discovered that my two original plants are surrounded by some tiny seedlings – happy (and fluffy) days!

Magenta-purple flowers of Pulsatilla vulgaris (pasqueflower)
Pasqueflowers enjoying the spring sunshine.

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Published by Ann Mackay

Photographer, mixed-media art adventurer and completely daft about plants.......

20 thoughts on “Fluff, Glorious Fluff!”

  3. Beautiful photos Ann. I have two, a red and a purple but they don’t flower very well, in fact I don’t think either did last year and currently there are only leaves appearing. I think I need to move them out of the Belfast sink they are in. What do you grow yours in? And sunlight or shade?

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    1. Mine are growing in a very hot and dry patch in the garden that has fairly poor soil. I believe that they used to be seen growing wild on East Anglian grassland, so I hope that give you an idea of the conditions they like. I’ve never tried them in a container, but I imagine they would need good drainage. (I lost my white pasqueflowers because they were smothered by an evergreen shrub nearby…argh!)

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  4. Your pictures do justice to these appealing flowers. I was going to say it’s understandable that fluff on seeds would facilitate dispersion by the wind, and then ask what use the soft hairs are on other parts of the plant. Then I got to your statement: “Their fine furry coats protect pasqueflowers against cold weather, dehydrating winds, and hungry creatures.” That raises another question: if a furry coat aids pasqueflowers in those ways, why haven’t all wildflowers that grow in similar soils and climates developed a covering of soft hairs?

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    1. Thank you Steve! Your question is a good one and I don’t know the answer. Pasqueflowers are quite a bit bigger flowers than most of the wildflowers I can think of, so maybe that makes them more vulnerable to damage.

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  6. Is there a chance you played with the title of a song from the musical “Oliver” for your blog title? Of course I’m thinking of “Food, Glorious Food.”

    Your flowers certainly are a feast for the eyes. I’ve read that some of our fuzzier plants, which often are found in drier areas, developed those hairs as a way of protecting themselves from moisture loss. It’s interesting that the same adaptation can serve multiple purposes.

    I’ve seen photos of pasque flowers from places like the Nebraska prairies. When I looked up their species, there was no evidence of this genus being anywhere in the area. Mystery solved: the pasque flower in Nebraska and elsewhere is Anemone patens: the same common name applied to a different genus and species, although it seems all of the pasque flowers bloom at about the same time. Their emergence around Easter time no doubt’s the reason for their common name.

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    1. Yes, Linda – you spotted it! That song has been stuck in my head for a few days now…I hope it leaves soon, LOL! Anemone pulsatilla is an alternative name for Pulsatilla vulgaris, so they must be very closely related. (I’ve seen some gorgeous Pulsatilla cultivars, mostly on the web, but also in Edinburgh’s botanic garden. There’s a beautiful soft blue one – wonderful!)

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