By Scott Shephard
Here are some things you may not have known about the pasque flower:
The American pasque flower is the state flower of South Dakota, as established by law in 1903
The Latin genus and species for pasque flower is pulsatilla hirsutissima which, crudely translated, means “beaten most hairy.” (I’m not making this up!) More eloquently translated: “The fuzzy flower that is ruffled by the wind.” If you look closely as my photo, you can see how hairy (hirsute) the leaves are.
The pasque flower is sometimes known as “the Easter flower” because it is blooms early. And flowers poking out of the ground are obvious symbols of resurrection.
“Pasque” is a derivative of the Hebrew word for Passover, which is generally observed around the same time that Christians celebrate Easter.
Flowers from the genus pulsatilla, including the pasque flower, have medicinal uses for things such as tension headaches, menstrual cramps, hyperactivity and insomnia. Oh, and swollen testicles, too. (Again, I’m not making this up!)
Pasque flowers can bloom continuously for several weeks and are handsome even in their going-to-seed stage. (As seen last year in a previous post of mine.)
This is not a “real” pasque flower. My wife bought this perennial at a greenhouse. I learned a long time ago that pasque flowers of the state flower variety grow in grassy, virgin soil. I haven’t seen a “real” pasque flower in decades. Maybe that’s because I don’t frequent places with virgin soil?
There you have it. That’s all that I know about pasque flowers. And it’s probably more than you want to know.
Canon R5 1/30 sec f/9.0 ISO 400