Winter Aconite ( Eranthis hyemalis )


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Family Ranunculaceae (Buttercup family)

Data Table

Winter Aconite is a low (10 cm) perennial hairless plant. The flowers look like large buttercups (2-3 cm) and have a characteristic ruff of 3 stalk-less, bract-like leaves. The flowers are pollinated by bees and flies and produce 'fruit' in the form of a cluster of about 6 follicles. The shiny green, palmately-lobed leaves appear after the flowers. The root is tuberous.

This is not a native of Britain, but originates from Southern Europe and West Asia where it grows in moist humus-rich soils of wood and scrubland up to 1500 metres high.
It has been widely cultivated as a garden plant, and consequently it has naturalised in many areas of Western Europe, including Britain. It can be found in woodland plantations and seems to have widely naturalised in some areas of Scotland.Flowers: January - March.