Astrantia major Star of Billion - Masterwort

Astrantia 'Star of Billion' is a variety of masterwort initially selected for cut flowers. Vigorous, it stands out for the duration and delicacy of its flowering. Forming a beautiful clump of leaves, this perennial is adorned for more than 4 months with a cloud of small umbels of white flowers nestled in bracts of white mother-of-pearl delicately tinged with green. Astrantia major is a perennial accustomed to cottage gardens, it is an easy-to-grow native plant in any good garden soil that remains fresh. It is obviously an excellent flower for dry or fresh bouquets.

Astrantia major, native to central and eastern Europe, belongs to the Apiaceae family (formerly known as Umbellifers), it is a distant relative of the carrot. In nature, it is found in mountainous areas, growing on clay-rich soils with a limestone tendency. It is a perennial, whose aerial vegetation develops in spring and disappears in winter. This wild masterwort is the origin of numerous cultivars and hybrids, including the pretty variety 'Star of Billion', which is extremely floriferous.

The bushy and somewhat loose habit enhances the elegance of its flowering. The plant forms a clump of about 60 cm (24in) in flower, 45 cm (18in) for the foliage, and 35 cm (14in) wide. The foliage is composed of palmate leaves, with 5 deep lobes, lanceolate, dentate, green and strongly veined. The inflorescences in umbels appear from June to September, in cloudy and long-lasting umbels. Sometimes reaching 5 cm (2in) in diameter, they are composed of dozens of tiny pink flowers with green peduncles, surrounded by a collar of large pearly white bracts, tipped with green. When fully open, the flowers of Astrantia 'Star of Billion' become pure white.

Perennial and robust, masterworts are a staple in natural gardens. The elegant and refined flowers brighten the shaded corners of the garden, and they are also widely used as cut flowers for their exceptional longevity. This masterwort will find its place in a white garden or on the edge of a light woodland, where it will illuminate with its discreet elegance, alongside Geranium phaeum or Hosta 'El Nino' for example. Very popular in contemporary gardens, this perennial requires little maintenance and thrives even where the garden is not maintained. It also pairs beautifully with the pastel colours of foxgloves, columbines, lungworts...