Masterwort / Astrantia major

On 27 June 2017, I visited the Reader Rock Garden. The sun was shining and, for the first time in quite a while, it wasn't windy, just a very slight breeze. I used to love going to this garden, usually after I had been volunteering in the same part of the city. Since I stopped volunteering (after a volunteer 'career' of 37 years at various places!), I haven't been going. On 27 June, I decided that I had better go, or the plants would be in seed before too long.

I always enjoy seeing these unusual Astrantia flowers with their sharp, pointed bracts that give the flower a star shape.

"Astrantia is a genus of herbaceous plants in the family Apiaceae, endemic to Central, Eastern and Southern Europe and the Caucasus. There are 8 or 9 species, which have aromatic roots, palmate leaves, and decorative flowers. They are commonly known as great masterwort or masterwort which may also refer to other plants, particularly the unrelated Peucedanum ostruthium.

The genus name derived from the Latin 'aster' meaning star and this refers to the open star-shaped floral bracts of the plant.

The astrantia has many common garden names including melancholy gentleman, masterwort and Hattie's pincushion." From Wikipedia.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astrantia