Pasqueflower meadow
In the Nový Lískovec district of Brno is home to the Kamenný Vrch Nature Reserve. This 14-hectare area, located on a 385-meter-high hill, was once pasture, later planted with pedunculate oak, Scots pine and deciduous larch. Today, this small forest area boasts the richest population of pasqueflower in South Moravia. The pasqueflower is associated with the arrival of spring and symbolizes rebirth, renewal and new beginning.
Wonderful wildflower
The pasqueflower belongs to the species of flowering plants and the family of Ranunculaceae. Its most common habitats are calcium-rich dry grasslands and areas of forest pine forests. It is a perennial plant, blooming from mid-February to mid-April. All varieties of pasqueflower are protected or strictly protected, as they are unfortunately rare and endangered plants today. In the Kamenný Vrch area, we can see the greater pasqueflower (Pulsatilla grandis) and the meadow pasqueflower (Pulsatilla pratensis).
“The beautiful spring came; and when Nature resumes her loveliness, the human soul is apt to revive also.”
– Harriet Ann Jacobs
Medicinal plant
The pasqueflower was used as a medicinal plant in the past. The fresh plant contains mainly protoanemonin, which is converted into anemonic acid when dried. Field pasqueflower also contains triterpene saponins. When picked fresh, it has toxic effects and causes skin irritation. That is why it was only used for medicinal purposes in its dried state. It was used to treat digestive complaints, eye diseases and migraine headaches. Nowadays it is a protected and rare wildflower, admire it, but please don’t pick it.
The legend
According to legend, this unusual wildflower appeared in England around old burial grounds covered with earth and stones. These places were soaked in the blood of heroic Viking warriors during great battles. Therefore, it is believed that the pasqueflower springs from the blood of heroic Viking warriors and grows on their graves. The legend may come from the fact that these charming plants grow in undisturbed dry grasslands, and also feel good on gravelly soil, where the soil is often thin with natural short vegetation.
“We don’t ask a flower any special reason for its existence. We just look at it and are able to accept it as being something different for ourselves.”
– Gwendolyn Brooks