A beautiful
flower of striking appearance. The flowers are light purplish-blue (occasinally pink or white), fairly large, with petals arranged in flat layers. Around the plant is the "
mist", of many fine soft green
bracts or threads. The horned
seedcase is large and
papery, and filled with small black seeds. It seeds easily and is highly suitable for borders.
Its botanical name is Nigella damascena, a close relative of Nigella sativa or black cumin. Other names for it are fennel-flower and devil-in-the-bush. It belongs to the ranunculus or buttercup family; however, the other herbs called fennel and cumin are not closely related.
Marianne Faithfull released an album Loveinamist in 1967.