Some would say this plant was the flower arranger's dream with its fresh lime green flowers and beautifully shaped leaves. The common name derives from the palm-shaped leaves which when young, fold like a lady's mantle or cloak.

Introduced to the UK in 1874 by the Austrian plant-collector Thomas Pichler from Mount Olympus, Alchemilla's name arose from a corruption of the Arabic word alkemelych. Alchemists were the predecessors to chemists and from the 4th to the 17th centuries they worked with metals, dyes and drugs. Driven by a vision of immense wealth, their greatest desire was to produce the philosopher's stone - an imaginary stone, substance or chemical that would enable them to transform ordinary metals into precious ones, particularly gold. The rare ingredient they sought for this purpose was the natural 'heavenly' dew, which settled in the furrowed leaves of lady's mantle, like shining pearls. In reality this liquid is not dew at all. Pressure from the roots force moisture out through openings on the circumference of the leaves as surplus water. The tiny droplets roll down into the hollow in the centre of the leaves, and run together to form the 'magic' drop.