Family

Brassicaceae

Description

Perennial honesty (Lunaria rediviva) is a long-lived, woodland species of Lunaria, grown for its fragrant, lilac-hued spring flowers and elegant seed pods. Unlike its more familiar biennial cousin L. annua, this plant forms a persistent colony in moist, shady soils, often thriving in woodland margins and dappled light. Its flowers are lightly scented—especially in the spring—and provide early foliage for native bees and hoverflies.

 

The narrow, elliptical seed pods that follow are translucent and slightly twisted, lending ornamental value well into late summer. Although slower to establish than the annual species, Lunaria rediviva offers a quieter, more naturalistic presence in shade gardens and self-sows modestly once it is settled.

Bloom Time

May to June