Description
Gosling plant, pasque-flower, windflower and more—Manitoba’s floral emblem, the prairie crocus, is a very early flowering beauty that goes by many names. Fluffy and fuzzy, this purple-coloured sign of spring became the official flower in 1906, when it was suggested by the Manitoba Horticultural Society and put to a vote among the province’s schoolchildren. One of several provincial emblems selected by popular vote, the enchanting prairie crocus is in bloom in the fifth Floral Emblems of Canada series coin. The Mintage is limited to 4,000. HST/GST exempt.
The Design:
The reverse design by Canadian artist Lisa Thomson-Khan features a colour portrait of the official floral emblem of Manitoba, the prairie crocus. The obverse features the effigy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II by Susanna Blunt.
Manitoba – Prairie Crocus:
The prairie crocus has pale blue or purple flowers arising from the woody rootstock that appear very early in spring. The whole plant is covered with woolly-white hairs. The flowers are about 4 cm in diameter, each with five to seven petal-like sepals, and many pistils and bright yellow stamens. (Like all anemones, prairie crocus does not have true petals. The blue or purple-coloured parts that look like petals are modified sepals.) When folded, the outer surface of the sepals appears covered in white woolly hairs. The flowers are open during the day but close at night. After the flower fades and sepals fall off, the pistils develop into a shaggy cluster of seeds, each seed with its own feathery plume. The leaves, gray-green and much divided, do not appear until the flower fades.
