Nederlands: Tuinjudaspenning
Español: Moneda del Papa - Lunaria - Planta de la plata
Français: Monnaie-du-Pape - Médaille de Judas - Herbe aux écus
Deutsch: Einjährige Silberblatt - Garten-Silberblatt - Judas-Silberling - Judas-Pfennig - Silbertaler - Garten-Mondviole
Family: Brassicaceae - Cabbage family
Flowering time: April-June
Height: 30-100cm
Altitude: to 1200m
Colour: reddish-purple, mauve, violet, rarely white
Leaves: oval to lanceolate, coarsely toothed, only the lower ones stalked
Habitat: cultivated land, waysides, waste places; sunny to half-shady situation on moist soil
Distribution: native to south-eastern Europe native; Italy, the Balkan peninsula and Romania
Synonyms: Lunaria biennis - Lunaria inodora - Viola lunaria
Notes: Flowers are followed by showy, translucent, roundish seedpods (silicles) the skin of which falls off to release the seeds, revealing a central membrane which is white with a silvery sheen. They persist on the plant through winter and these pods are used in floral arrangements. This species is widely cultivated in gardens in a number of countries. As garden escapes naturalized for example in Great Britain, though they rarely persist long. Lunaria rediviva is a similar species and is native to many countries of Europe. The silicles of the Perennial Honesty are lanceolate. Lunaria rediviva is also cultivated in gardens. Both species are pollinated by bees and butterflies.
Related key words: Rotterdam, Botanische tuin Kralingen
