Honesty

Honestly, who wouldn't like a wildflower named "Honesty?" This oddly-named plant is one example of a garden flower that has "escaped" into the wild and became naturalized. It was originally a native of SE Europe, but according to several sources, Honesty (Lunaria annua) has made its way all over Europe and North America. Luckily for us photographers, it's quite attractive, with large purple blossoms and rather tall, making it easy to capture!

But perhaps more people would recognize the large, round, semi-transparent seeds that develop later in the year and vaguely resemble coins. Some would also mistake Honesty seeds for Money plant (Lunaria biennis) seeds, the latter being the actual, related but official Money plant. See link below for photos.

The dried seeds are often used in floral arrangements and have been called Silver Dollars or Chinese Coins. The Lunaria name has to do with the full moon, a resemblance one can see in the dried seeds. The origin of the Honesty name is less clear, so to speak; one source attributes the name to the transparency of the dried seeds. Not sure I follow that logic, but the name stuck!

Honesty is an annual plant, spreading by seeds and can grow to three feet high in good conditions. We spotted these growing about two feet tall at Champoeg State Park (4/07/2014) on the river trail near the old town site.

Check out the colorful green insect in lower left corner!

Old Oregon White Oak in background.

Blossoms measure about 1 - 1.5 inches across.

Seeds - via Wikipedia

Links:

UK Wildflower Site