Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: Astrantia major

On 27 June 2017, I visited the Reader Rock Garden. The sun was shining and, for the first time in quite a while, it wasn't windy, just a very slight breeze. I used to love going to this garden, usually after I had been volunteering in the same part of the city. Since I stopped volunteering (after a volunteer 'career' of 37 years at various places!), I haven't been going. On 27 June, I decided that I had better go, or the plants would be in seed before too long. I always enjoy seeing these unusual Astrantia flowers with their sharp, pointed bracts that give the flower a star shape. "Astrantia is a genus of herbaceous plants in the family Apiaceae, endemic to Central, Eastern and Southern Europe and the Caucasus. There are 8 or 9 species, which have aromatic roots, palmate leaves, and decorative flowers. They are commonly known as great masterwort or masterwort which may also refer to other plants, particularly the unrelated Peucedanum ostruthium. The genus name derived from the Latin 'aster' meaning star and this refers to the open star-shaped floral bracts of the plant. The astrantia has many common garden names including melancholy gentleman, masterwort and Hattie's pincushion." From Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astrantia

I always think this plant, Masterwort / Astrantia major, is quite easily overlooked, mainly because the colour of the small flowers gets lost against the green foliage. Unfortunate, as each individual flower is a work of art. After a volunteer shift on 23 July 2014, I wasn't too far away from the Erlton/Roxboro Natural Area, where I was finally going to go on a botany walk. Having been to this location several times before, I knew it was a short, easy, flat trail, and that I could go as far as I wanted and then turn back early, which is what I did. I'd missed pretty well all the botany and birding walks the previous few months, which was quite depressing. The main thing I wanted to see were the Nodding / Musk Thistles, as these are my favourite species of Thistle. They are called a "weed", but I love to see them. The sun was unfortunately in the wrong direction, so I was only able to get a handful of shots, but better than nothing. With a couple of hours to "kill", I spent them at the Reader Rock Garden, which was just a few minutes' drive away from the evening botany walk location. This is where I photographed this small, quite spectacular flower - a rather grainy image, but it does show the beautiful details. "Masterwort produces many small, ivory flowers that are flushed pink and bloom continuously throughout the summer and fall, wafting a sweet scent. Like Queen Anne’s lace, each masterwort blossom is an umbel of tiny flowers, framed by a collar of papery bracts." From finegardening.com. www.finegardening.com/masterwort-astrantia-major www.finegardening.com/masterwort-astrantia-major en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astrantia_major

I'm not sure what this flower is called - it was growing at the Reader Rock Garden at the end of August. It almost makes me think of a straw flower, and I loved the different shades of pink. Later: thanks so much to treehugger_007 for the ID, Astrantia!

I saw this flower at the Reader Rock Garden late this afternoon, but I don't know what it is. Very pretty, I thought. Not as sharp as it could be, but I was hoping that someone might know its name.