Adonis aestivalis aestivalis

Description

Adonis flammea is a species of plant belonging to the family Ranunculaceae. The plant is similar to Adonis annua but is more robust with large flowers, 2–3 cm in diameter, usually with narrow and oblong petals, dark scarlet sepals that are attached to the petals. It can distinguished by its mottled black achenes having a rounded bulge just below the peak. It blooms in spring and summer. Calcareous fields in the Anatolia, the Levant Central and Southern Europe. Adonis flammea, was described by Nikolaus Joseph von Jacquin and published in Florae Austriaceae 4: 29, in the year 1776. Adonis: according to Stearn's Dictionary of Plant Names, the genus names derives from the Adonis, a Greek deity: "The flower is supposed to have sprung from the blood of Adonis who was gored to death by a wild boar. He was beloved of Aphrodite and by some accounts was unsuccessfully wooed by her. Adonis was regarded by the Greeks as the god of plants. It was believed that he disappeared into the earth in autumn and winter only to reappear in spring and summer. To celebrate his return, the Greeks adopted the Semitic custom of making Adonis gardens, consisting of clay pots of quickly growing seeds. Adonis is a genus of about 20–30 species of flowering plants of the crowfoot family, Ranunculaceae, native to Europe and Asia. The species grow to 10–40 centimetres (3.9–15.7 in) in height, with feathery, finely divided leaves. Their flowers are red, yellow or orange and have 5–30 petals. The Autumn Adonis, pheasant's-eye (A. annua), has flowers with bright red petals. The generic name Adonis refers to the mythical character Adonis, a lover of the goddess Aphrodite or Venus, and of Persephone, goddess of the underworld. Red flowers of the Adonis genus are said to have grown from the grave of Adonis, after he was slain by a wild boar possessed with unusual viciousness through instigation by the jealous Ares. According to the Metamorphoses of Ovid the anemone, also of the family Ranunculaceae, was created when Venus sprinkled nectar on his blood.