Lunaria annua

Description

It is an annual or biennial growing to 90 cm tall by 30 cm broad, with large, coarse, pointed oval leaves with marked serrations. The leaves are hairy, the lower ones long-stalked, the upper ones stalkless. In spring and summer it bears terminal racemes of white, pink or violet flowers, followed by showy, green through light brown, translucent, disc-shaped siliques (not true botanical seedpods), sometimes called moonpennies. When a silique 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, 3 - in diameter; the membrane can persist on a plant throughout a winter depending on the weather. These siliques are much used in dry floral arrangements.

Distribution

Lunaria annua is native to southern Europe from Spain to Romania, and has been introduced to many other parts of the world with temperate climates.

Names

The Latin name lunaria means 'moon-shaped' and refers to the shape and appearance of this species' siliques. The common name "honesty" arose in the 16th century and relates to the translucence of its silique membranes, which "truthfully" reveal their contents. Additional English names include money plant, moneywort, penny flower, silver dollar, and money-in-both-pockets, Chinese money, or Chinese coins. These, too, reference the silique membranes, which have the appearance of silvery coins. 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 siliques are often seen in flower arrangements. and the variegated white L. annua var. albiflora 'Alba Variegata' have won the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.{{cite web | url= https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/pdfs/agm-lists/agm-ornamentals.pdf | title = AGM Plants - Ornamental | date = July 2017

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

References

References

1. "''Lunaria annua'' L.". Royal Botanic gardens, Kew.
2. Parnell, J. and Curtis, T. 2012 ''Webb's An Irish Flora.'' Cork University Press {{ISBN. 978-185918-4783
3. (22 April 2023). "Honesty (Lunaria annua) plants for cottage garden".
4. (2008). "RHS A-Z encyclopedia of garden plants". Dorling Kindersley.
5. Coombes, Allen J.. (2012). "The A to Z of plant names". Timber Press.
6. "Oxford University Plants 400: Lunaria annua".
7. "Plant 235 - Lunaria annua L. (Brassicaceae) - Honesty". Department of Plant Sciences, University of Oxford.
8. "Judaspenning", ''[[Van Dale]]'s Groot woordenboek van de Nederlandse taal'', online edition, retrieved 23 May 2020
9. Hartlieb, Johannes, ''das puch aller verpoten kunst, ungelaubens und der zaubrey'', 1450s, [http://digi.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/cpg478 CPG 478], 78 foll. (in the hand of [[Clara Hätzlerin]]), 1465, ed. Eisermann and Graf (1989).
10. "Lunaria annua var. albiflora, white-flowered honesty". Royal Horticultural Society.
11. "Lunaria annua var. albiflora 'Alba Variegata&' (v), honesty 'Alba Variegata'". Royal Horticultural Society.
12. "Money Plant (Lunaria annua)".