Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Rosids: Malvids: Brassicales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Lunaria annua
FAMILY
Brassicaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Check out EDDMapS.org to see where this has been reported.
Read more about Annual Honesty at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Lunaria annua
FAMILY
Brassicaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Lunaria annua ssp. annua
SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America
Lunaria annua
COMMON NAME:
Money Plant, Annual Honesty, Silver-dollar Plant
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
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USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_luan_001_lvd
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JK Marlow jkm120328_113
March Pickens County SC
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JK Marlow jkm120328_118
March Pickens County SC
Leaves cordate-based, triangular, and with coarse teeth, per Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998).
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JK Marlow jkm120328_121
March Pickens County SC
Petals 4, usually purple or lavender, obovate, much longer than sepals, per Flora of North America.
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JK Marlow jkm120328_124b
March Pickens County SC
Sepals cucullate [hood-like], two linear and two broadly oblong-elliptic, per Flora of North America.
)
Gill Newberry gn04_lunaria_annua
April
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Gill Newberry gn04_lunaria_flowers
April
)
JK Marlow jkm150605_134
June Watauga County NC
Glen Burnie Trail
Siliques unsegmented, 2cm+ wide, broadly rounded at both ends when mature, per Weakley's Flora (2015).
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JK Marlow jkm150605_136
June Watauga County NC
Glen Burnie Trail
)
Marian StClair msc_3503
September Greenville County SC
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Marian StClair msc_3505
September Greenville County SC
Called Money Plant because of the silvery septum left after fruit matures, per Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998).
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Lunaria annua
FAMILY
Brassicaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Lunaria annua
FAMILY
Brassicaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Lunaria annua ssp. annua
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America
Lunaria annua
3243
Forb
Biennial
Habitat: Escaped from cultivation around gardens, naturalizing in floodplains in suburban areas, per Weakley's Flora
Non-native: southeast Europe
Rare
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
LEAVES:
Simple
Basal & opposite or alternate
FLOWER:
Spring/Summer
Purple/ Lavender
(rarely White)
Radially symmetrical
4 sepals
4 petals
6 stamens tetradynamous (2 short, 4 long)
Superior ovary
Bisexual
FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
Silvery
Silicle
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
If a search such as "Carex leptalea var. leptalea" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "Carex leptalea".
Or, to minimize chances of a misspelling, try just "Carex le".
Less is more: If "pencil flower" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "pencil".