American Pasque Flower
(Pulsatilla hirsutissima)
Adopted on March 5, 1903; 1919
The American Pasque Flower, Pulsatilla
hirsutissima, was adopted as South Dakota's
state flower on March 5, 1903. In 1919, South
Dakota's state flower law was revised, changing
the scientific name to Pulsatilla hirsutissima
Originally named the Paschflower by herbalist
John Gerade in 1597. From the Hebrew word Pasch,
which means Passover.
This perennial herb is more commonly called the pasqueflower (psk´flou´´r)
from the French word Pasque, or "Easter". It
grows wild throughout the state, and its blooms
are one of the first signs of spring in South
Dakota.
A wildflower of the prairie regions of North
America, is of the buttercup family having
purple, crocus like flowers blooming about
Easter. The pasqueflower has often been made the
subject of Plains Indian songs and legends.
South Dakota's original state flower bill,
described it as "the pasque or wind flower."It
was changed to "pasque flower,"with the
scientific name "Anemone patens.
While many of the other plants in South Dakota
haven't even turned green, the pasque flower is
peaking above the snow, with its white, pink, or
purplish, tulip-like blossoms already open. The
flower's common name is French for Easter, and
refers to the plant's habit of flowering between
late March and early June, depending on
location.
This member of the buttercup family, the pasque
is a small, lavender flower, has been given
numerous names over the years: Easter flower,
May Day flower, gosling flower, wild crocus,
prairie crocus, prairie anemone, meadow anemone,
sand flower, wind flower and prairie smoke. The
scientific genus name, Anemone , means wind
flower. The species name, patens , means
spreading. The Lakota name for this plant, "hosi'
cekpa" translates as "child's navel" and is very
descriptive of the plump flower buds that look
like a newborn's navel before it heals.
Pasque flowers have a showy, beautiful
blossom that is composed of 5 to 7 sepals that
look like petals. True petals are lacking. The
flowers are radially symmetrical and grow to be
1 to 4 inches (2.5 - 10.2 cm) wide. Leaves on
the stem are silky, haired, sessile, and
arranged in a whorl beneath the petal-like
sepals. The basal leaves, typical of all plants
in the buttercup family, have long, hairy
petioles and are deeply indented, producing
narrow, linear palmate lobes. A similar species,
not found in South Dakota is the western pasque
flower. It can be distinguished by its smaller
flowers that are lighter in color.
Distribution
The pasque flower is found across much of
North America from approximately 43 degrees to
60 degrees north latitude. It is found from
Alaska, south to Utah, east to Illinois and west
to Alberta. Pasqueflowers prefer plains,
foothills and mountain meadows at altitudes from
4,000 to 10,000 feet (1231-3077 m). In eastern
South Dakota, pasque flower growth can be quite
luxuriant, though it becomes more sparse west of
the Missouri River. With agriculture and
ranching, pasque flowers are not as abundant as
they once were, but they are still locally
common in the Black Hills, Slim Buttes, and Cave
Hills.
Natural History
Pasque flowers are the first sign that spring
has arrived in South Dakota. These lovely
blossoms peak through the snow beginning in late
March. By midsummer, their life cycle is
complete.
Anemones are wind flowers; their seeds are
dispersed by the wind so that new plants develop
away from the parent plant. The plants develop
quickly in the spring by sending out a hairy
stem with a whorl of bracts and a flower bud
that grows 4 to 15 inches (10-38 cm) in height.
As the plant matures, a woody, persistent stem
develops just beneath the soil. Each year, this
stem gives rise to new growth of leaves and
flowers. The flower will develop into a 1 to 2.5
inch (2.5-6.6 cm) wide fruiting head with many
small fruits (achenes), each of which has a long
feathery attachment that can catch the wind.
South Dakota Statutes
1-6-10.
State floral emblem.
The floral emblem of
this state shall be the American pasque
flower (pulsatilla hirsutissima) with the
motto "I Lead."
Taxonomic Hierarchy
|
Kingdom |
Plantae -- Plants |
Subkingdom |
Tracheobionta -- Vascular plants |
Superdivision |
Spermatophyta -- Seed plants |
Division |
Magnoliophyta -- Flowering
plants |
Class |
Magnoliopsida -- Dicotyledons |
Subclass |
Magnoliidae – |
Order |
Ranunculales – |
Family |
Ranunculaceae – Buttercup family |
Genus |
Pulsatilla P. Mill. –
pasqueflower |
Species |
Pulsatilla patens (L.) P.
Mill. – American pasqueflower |
Subspecies |
Pulsatilla patens (L.) P.
Mill. ssp. multifida (Pritz.) Zamels
– cutleaf anemone |
|