Pulsatilla

(Pulsatilla vulgarts Mill. =Anemone pulsatilla L., Ranunculaceae)

Also Called: Pasque Flower, Wind Flower.

Description: Perennial plant 5-40cm (2-16in) high, with a stout rhizome. Leaves radical with long petioles, much divided and emerging as a rosette after the flowers have developed. Stem erect, bearing a single flower with 6 dark-blue petals 3-5.5cm (1-2in) long and hairy externally; stamens numerous. Fruits hairy with a plume, grouped at the apex of the stem that elongates above the leafy in volucre after flowering.

Part Used: Aerial parts, fresh or, rarely, dried.

Habitat and Collection: On sunny hillsides throughout Europe. A local plant of eastern England on dry calcareous grassy slopes.
Collected when in flower (April).

Constituents and Action: Poisonous in the fresh state; like several other members of the Ranunculaceae it contains an acrid substance, irritant to the skin, anemonol or protoanemonine. In small amounts it is rubefacient but in larger quantities it is vesicant. The skin may be irritated by simple contact with the plant; the action is more pronounced if the skin is rubbed. On drying the plant, this action largely disappears.

Usage: In homeopathy the tincture is used for menstrual pains in doses of 10 drops (or less) thrice daily.