Adonis flower

Adonis annua (syn. Adonis autumnalis L., Adonis phoenicea Bercht. & J.Presl.), also known as Pheasant's-eye, Adonis' Flower, autumn adonis, Autumn Pheasant's-eye, Blooddrops, Red Chamomile, Red Morocco, Rose-a-ruby, Soldiers-in-green, is a medicinal and ornamental plant and is a plant of the Ranunculaceae family.

It is native to North Africa, Western Asia, the Mediterranean, and Europe. The name Bird's Eye is also associated with the bird's-eye primrose.
Pheasant's eye is also an alternative name for poet's narcissus.

The beautiful pheasant's eye has feathery leaves and produces attractive scarlet coloured flowers, similar in appearance to anemones.
The arrangement of the seeds resembles a loganberry.
The Latin name Adonis is said to remember the young Adonis who was killed by a wild boar; this flower supposedly sprang up from the ground where his blood fell.
Pheasants have red eyes, and the common name refers to this fact. Local names include 'Jack in the green', 'love lies bleeding' and 'rose-a-ruby'.

This winter annual germinates towards the end of autumn and flowers in June and July. Very few seeds are produced by each plant, and their large size and heaviness restricts the colonisation of new areas. It is likely that the seeds are able to lie dormant for many years in the soil until conditions become suitable again, as the plant has re-appeared after clearings are created in woodlands.

This species is thought to be an ancient introduction to Great Britain, and was once such a common feature in southern England that it was sold on Covent Garden Market as 'red Morocco' in the eighteenth century, but since 1987 it has been recorded at just 18 sites, and is now restricted to southern and south-east England. Previously it reached as far north as Leicestershire and Lincolnshire. The European range centres on the Mediterranean region and reaches Iran and North Africa.

Occurs in cultivated land, most often in cornfields, and has more recently become associated with field margins and corners, which provide refuges from intense herbicide and fertiliser applications, particularly on thin chalky and limestone soils.