Alchemilla


Alchemilla is a genus of herbaceous perennial plants in the family Rosaceae, with the common name lady's mantle applied generically as well as specifically to Alchemilla mollis when referred to as a garden plant. The plant used as a herbal tea or for medicinal usage such as gynaecological disorders is Alchemilla xanthochlora or in Middle Europe the so-called common lady's mantle Alchemilla vulgaris. There are about 700 species, the majority native to cool temperate and subarctic regions of Europe and Asia, with a few species native to the mountains of Africa and the Americas.
Most species of Alchemilla are clump-forming or mounded perennials with basal leaves arising from woody rhizomes. Some species have leaves with lobes that radiate from a common point and others have divided leaves—both are typically fan-shaped with small teeth at the tips. The long-stalked, gray-green to green leaves are often covered with soft hairs, and show a high degree of water-resistance. Green to bright chartreuse flowers are small, have no petals and appear in clusters above the foliage in late spring and summer.

Selected species

  • Alchemilla abyssinica
  • Alchemilla alpina — alpine lady's mantle
  • Alchemilla argyrophylla
  • Alchemilla barbatiflora
  • Alchemilla bursensis
  • Alchemilla conjuncta
  • Alchemilla diademata diadem lady's mantle
  • Alchemilla ellenbeckii
  • Alchemilla erythropoda — dwarf lady's mantle
  • Alchemilla filicaulis — thinstem lady's mantle
  • Alchemilla flabellata — fan lady's mantle
  • Alchemilla glabra — smooth lady's mantle
  • Alchemilla glaucescens — waxy lady's mantle
  • Alchemilla glomerulans — clustered lady's mantle
  • Alchemilla gracilis
  • Alchemilla hungarica
  • Alchemilla japonica
  • Alchemilla jaroschenkoi — holotrichous lady's mantle
  • Alchemilla johnstonii
  • Alchemilla lapeyrousii — Lapeyrous' lady's mantle
  • Alchemilla mollis
  • Alchemilla monticola — hairy lady's mantle
  • Alchemilla orbiculata
  • Alchemilla sericata
  • Alchemilla splendens
  • Alchemilla stricta
  • Alchemilla subcrenata — broadtooth lady's mantle
  • Alchemilla stuhlmanii
  • Alchemilla subcrenata
  • Alchemilla subnivalis
  • Alchemilla triphylla
  • Alchemilla venosa — boreal lady's mantle
  • Alchemilla vestita
  • Alchemilla vulgaris
  • Alchemilla wichurae — grassland lady's mantle
  • ''Alchemilla xanthochlora''