Pheasant's-eye

Adonis annua, known as pheasant's-eye or blooddrops, is an annual herb of the family Ranunculaceae growing to around 20-40 cm tall. It produces erect, sparsely branched stems clothed in finely dissected, almost feathery leaves divided into narrow linear segments. The solitary, terminal flowers are small but vivid, with five to eight glossy scarlet petals bearing a dark blackish blotch at the base, surrounded by spreading green sepals. Flowering occurs in late spring and summer, the blooms followed by ovoid heads of ridged achenes. Native to the Mediterranean, North Africa, western Asia, and parts of Europe, it favours calcareous arable fields and disturbed ground; in Britain it is endangered and protected. All parts contain toxic cardiac glycosides and are poisonous to humans and livestock.