''Pulsatilla grandis'', the greater pasque flower, is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriat ...

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants t ...

in the

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

Pulsatilla The genus ''Pulsatilla'' contains about 40 species of herbaceous perennial plants native to meadows and prairies of North America, Europe, and Asia. Derived from the Hebrew word for Passover, "pasakh", the common name pasque flower refers to the ...

'' of the family

Ranunculaceae Ranunculaceae (buttercup or crowfoot family; Latin "little frog", from "frog") is a family of over 2,000 known species of flowering plants in 43 genera, distributed worldwide. The largest genera are ''Ranunculus'' (600 species), ''Delphinium' ...

. It is a

perennial plant A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wide ...

that grows on

calcium Calcium is a chemical element with the symbol Ca and atomic number 20. As an alkaline earth metal, calcium is a reactive metal that forms a dark oxide-nitride layer when exposed to air. Its physical and chemical properties are most similar ...

-rich soil in dry

grassland A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominated by grasses ( Poaceae). However, sedge ( Cyperaceae) and rush ( Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes, like clover, and other herbs. Grasslands occur na ...

s, in rocky outcrops, and in pine and oak forests. It flowers from February to April, in the time of the

Easter Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the '' Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samue ...

(which gives it its name), with intensively blue to violet flowers. Its silk stalk is protected from the cold by velvety

trichome Trichomes (); ) are fine outgrowths or appendages on plants, algae, lichens, and certain protists. They are of diverse structure and function. Examples are hairs, glandular hairs, scales, and papillae. A covering of any kind of hair on a p ...

s (hairs). ''Pulsatilla grandis'' is native to the countries of

Central Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known a ...

, Eastern and

Southeastern Europe Southeast Europe or Southeastern Europe (SEE) is a geographical subregion of Europe, consisting primarily of the Balkans. Sovereign states and territories that are included in the region are Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia (a ...

, and is particularly frequent in

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Cr ...

. In some of them, it is classed as

threatened Threatened species are any species (including animals, plants and fungi) which are vulnerable to endangerment in the near future. Species that are threatened are sometimes characterised by the population dynamics measure of '' critical depe ...

Slovenia

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, and ...

, ''Pulsatilla grandis'' (named , the Easter flower) is a rare and protected plant. It has four growing places in the country all of them are situated in the sub-Pannonian phytogeographical area in the northeastern part of Slovenia. The plant is the symbol of the Boč–Donatus Mountain Landscape Park. On a small rise near the Boč growing place, a stone sculpture of the flower, created by the sculptor Franc Tobias from

Razvanje Razvanje () is a village south of Maribor in northeastern Slovenia. It belongs to the City Municipality of Maribor. History Rich archeological sites show that the first people settled here probably at the end of the Neolithic, 4,000 years ago. R ...

, has been put on display in the 2000s. ''Pulsatilla grandis'' is also depicted on the coat of arms of the Diocese of Celje.

References

External links

*
''Pulsatilla grandis'': Species Range
Maps.iucnredlist.org. {{Taxonbar, from=Q145399

grandis Grandis may refer to: * Grandis (company), a company producing magnetoresistive random-access memory * Grandis (company), a company producing High quality Italian racing bicycles * Grandis (surname) * Mitsubishi Grandis, a large multi-purpose vehi ...

Flora of Austria Flora of Bosnia and Herzegovina Flora of Croatia Flora of the Czech Republic Flora of Germany Flora of Hungary Flora of Moldova Flora of Romania Flora of Serbia Flora of Slovakia Flora of Slovenia Flora of Ukraine