Seasonal Wild Flowers

Latin name

Agrimonia procera

Family

Rosaceae

Flowering season

June to September

English distribution

It is found throughout the country but is most common in

the North, the South and the far Southwest.

For a map see the Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland –

Fragrant Agrimony

Habitat

It grows in grassy places such as meadows, hedges, verges

and open woodland.

Description

Fragrant Agrimony is a native, erect, aromatic, perennial 

herb growing up to 1m.

The flowers are on long spikes, up to 1cm across with

5 yellow petals and 5 pointed hairy sepals.

There are between 10 and 20 stamens with yellow

fillaments and orange-brown anthers.

There are 2 linear pale styles and apical stigmas.

The fruit is a bell-shaped receptical, which is only

shallowly grooved. 

There are numerous spines with curved tips.

Spines are erect, spreading and deflexed. Both the

'bell' and the spines have numerous glands.

Leaves are pinnate with up to 6 pairs of leaflets.

Leaflets are coarsely toothed.

The under sides of the leaves are hairy and covered

in glands.

Stems are simple, hairy and highly glandular. A gentle

rub of the hands over the stem or the underside of a

leaf produced  a pleasant fragrant smell.

Fragrant Agrimony differs from Agrimony by being

more aromatic and more robust. The leaves are bigger

but narrower and the flowers are larger.

The fruits show the biggest difference.

The receptacle is less grooved and the spines more

spreading with the lower ones pointing downwards

compared to those in Agrimony.