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Thymelaeaceae
Mezereon
Daphne mezereum
Sweetness with danger.
- Family
- Thymelaeaceae
- Genus
- Daphne
- Native to
- Europe, Western Asia
- Bloom season
- Late Winter, Early Spring
- Type
- shrub
- Height
- 3-5 ft
- Sunlight
- part shade
- Soil
- moist, well-drained, humus-rich, neutral to alkaline
- Water
- moderate
- Hardiness
- 4-8
- Lifespan
- perennial
Did you know
- Mezereon flowers in late winter before its leaves appear — clusters of intensely fragrant pink flowers stud bare stems, producing one of the most powerfully scented winter perfumes in the garden.
- All parts of the plant are highly toxic: ingesting as few as 12 of its brilliant red berries can be fatal to children, yet birds eat them freely without harm.
- The bark's burning, blistering sap was used medicinally in the Middle Ages as a topical treatment for cancer and skin lesions — an extreme and dangerous application.
- Mezereon is one of only two Daphne species native to Britain, where it grows naturally in calcareous woodland — it is legally protected in the UK.
- The Persian word 'mäzaryun' (mezereon's origin) refers to a plant causing burns and blisters, accurately describing the plant's corrosive sap effects on skin.
Color meanings
0
caution
1
intoxicating beauty
2
desire