Lunaria annua L.
Annual Honesty
Honesty is an upright biennial of the cabbage family, native to south-eastern Europe and western Asia and long cultivated and naturalised in Britain. Despite its species name, it behaves as a biennial: in its first year it makes a leafy rosette of coarse, heart-shaped, toothed leaves, and in its second it throws up branching stems, typically 60 to 100cm tall, bearing loose sprays of four-petalled flowers in rich purple or sometimes white.
About
Honesty is an upright biennial of the cabbage family, native to south-eastern Europe and western Asia and long cultivated and naturalised in Britain. Despite its species name, it behaves as a biennial: in its first year it makes a leafy rosette of coarse, heart-shaped, toothed leaves, and in its second it throws up branching stems, typically 60 to 100cm tall, bearing loose sprays of four-petalled flowers in rich purple or sometimes white.
It is at home in light or dappled shade and on most reasonable soils, making it a fine choice for woodland edges, hedge bottoms and shadier borders. The spring flowers are valuable to early bees and butterflies and the plant supports certain moth and butterfly caterpillars. Its great signature, though, comes later: flat, rounded seedpods that dry to translucent, papery silvery discs, popular in dried arrangements. It self-seeds readily and naturalises easily in informal plantings.
Also known as
Honesty · Moneyplant · Silver Dollar Plant · money plant · penny flower · satin flower · silver-dollar
Synonyms
Lunaria annua annua · Lunaria corcyrea
In our seed mixes
Beta — under active development. This catalogue is still being built and accuracy-checked. The information here (including plant identifications, British native status, soil and sun/shade preferences) is provided in good faith for general guidance only and may contain errors or omissions. It must not be relied upon on its own — please confirm details with us before making planting, specification, foraging or purchasing decisions, and never eat or medicinally use any plant based on this catalogue alone, as some species are toxic. To the extent permitted by law, Phoenix Amenity Supplies accepts no liability for any loss arising from use of this information.