Need help with a flower name?

This flower only grows about once a year in my garden, hence why i have no picture. I can only give a description (a hazy one at that) but i'll do my best.





The plant itself has about 10cm long leaves (may have been longer) and the flower itself grows atop a pretty thick stem (as compared to other flowers). Only one flower from this plant blooms at about once a year.


It has quite a few red petal (i mean as opposed to something like a tulip. Its quite similar to a rose, sort of). The middle of the flower is black and the flower itself is quite large.


As i recall there was small leaves directly at the base of the flower and the stem seemed to have a furry texture.





Thats all i can remember...


I think the petals start to turn black as it wilts but i may be wrong about that....





Ive wanted to find out what it is for ages. Any help is appreciated. Please and Thank you.
Need help with a flower name?
If it returns every year and the foliage is almost fernlike but lush at the same time then it sounds like you may be the proud and fortunate owner of a Peony of some sort. They are perennials that come from a root that has eyes that produce growth every spring. The roots will grow larger every year and the flower display will be more spectacular the more mature the Peony root is.


FYI: These are very fancy and expensive plants so enjoy!
Reply:I'm going to toss out a couple of ideas to see if you can narrow your description a bit.





Hellebore if it is blooming right now. Many species but most common is H. orientalis.


http://www.hellebores.org/


http://www.heronswood.com/perennials_per...


http://www.heronswood.com/perennials_per...


http://www.monrovia.com/PlantInf.nsf/0/b...


Peony- Paeonia spp are about 0.5 - 1.5 m tall. They can have dark based petals. They have compound leaves and each leaflet is deeply lobed.


http://www.americanpeonysociety.org/


http://www.paeonia.com/html/peonies/bota...


http://www.heronswood.com/Perennials_Per...





Poppy - Pappaver species number over 100 and many have fine hairs on the leaves. Some examples:


P. nudicaule or Iceland poppy


P. paeoniflorum , a sub-species of the opium poppy


P. orientale the Oriental poppy


P. rhoeas the famous corn or Flanders poppy are some of my favorites with their vivid reds.


Here is a site listing the poppy species giving common and latin names with all synonyms and in several languages.


http://www.heronswood.com/perennials_per...


http://www.monrovia.com/PlantInf.nsf/085...


http://www.meconopsis.org/pages/portrait...


http://www.plantnames.unimelb.edu.au/Sor...


Plants Database-Poppy


http://www.bbc.co.uk/gardening/





Anemone coronaria blooms in late sping


http://www.tulipworld.com/itemdesc.asp?i...


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anemone_cor...


http://flickr.com/photos/8967076@N08/227...
Reply:Almost certainly Oriental Poppy . (Papaver orientale ) Does it bloom in late spring, at the same time as Siberian Iris ?


(Here in NY state , it's usually ~ May 30 - June 15)


http://www.burpee.com/product/perennial+...





http://www.bbc.co.uk/gardening/plants/pl...





There are other poppy species with red varieties, but none that I would characterize as "large".





There are a few peony species that might fit the bill , but none of them (that I know of) that are both red, and have a black center . They are definitely not fuzzy.





http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rock's_Peon...hairstyles hair style