Blooms: March-June
Habit: herb
Duration: annual
Origin: Introduced from SE Europe
Distribution: Distributed in scattered locations across Washington; British Columbia south to California and Utah; also distributed throughout eastern North America.
Habitat: Escaping from cultivation to urban forests, roadsides, and other disturbed areas.

Species Description:

General: Annual or biennial herb, spreading-pubescent throughout, the stems freely branched, 5-10 dm. tall.
Leaves: Leaves alternate, broadly ovate, deeply dentate, 4-10 cm. long, cordate and petiolate below, somewhat reduced, rounded and sessile above.
Flowers: Inflorescence of terminal racemes and smaller, axillary racemes in the upper leaf axils; sepals 4, the outer pair saccate at base; petals 4, bluish-purple to red-violet, clawed, about 2 cm. long; stamens 6; style 6-8 mm. long, beak-like.
Fruits: Silicles oblong-oval, 3.5-4.5 cm. long and 2/3 as broad, strongly compressed, on a slender stipe 7-12 mm. long; seeds in 2 series, reniform, 7-9 mm. broad.

Lunaria annua L.

Treated in Flora of the PNW as:

PNW Herbaria Specimens: View list of Lunaria annua specimens in the Consortium of Pacific Northwest Herbaria database.

WTU Herbarium Specimens: View list of Lunaria annua specimens in the WTU Herbarium database.

Washington Flora Checklist: Lunaria annua treatment.

E-Flora BC: Lunaria annua atlas page.

CalPhotos: Lunaria annua images.

USDA Plants Database: Lunaria annua.