Anemone |
 Candle Anemone
Also called "thimbleweed," "cottonweed," and "long-headed anemone." The overall range of this plant, that includes the roughly triangular area with points in Maine, Alberta, and Arizona. A perennial, candle anemone grows as small groups of stems up to 2 feet tall from a thick caudex (toughened stem base). Many of the highly dissected leaves arise on long petioles from the base, but another set of leaves is found at about 2/3rds the height of the plant. From this set grow 1-5 long stalks, each with a greenish-white flower about 3/4 inch wide. By fall, the stalks bear cottony fruit heads about 1-2 inches long. Fruits are white-wooly achenes. Look for candle anemone in lightly or moderately grazed native prairie. The occurrence of more plants under these conditions may mostly be related to increased soil moisture, as the species seems to be little used by livestock. Many of the 100 or so species of Anemone are used for foods and medicines, especially in Asia, but I could find no reference to economic uses for candle anemone. This plant is a member of the buttercup family (Ranunculaceae), the name derived from the Latin ranuncula for "a little frog," and applied by Pliny the Elder (23-79 A.D.) to these mostly aquatic plants that grow where frogs abound. The generic name Anemone is an ancient corruption of the Semitic name for Adonis, from whose blood a red-flowered species of the orient is said to have sprung. The specific epithet cylindrica refers to the shape of the fruit head. Candle anemone was first described for science in 1836 by America's premier botanist, Harvard Professor Asa Gray (1810-1888). Meadow Anemone Meadow anemone occurs naturally across southern Canada southward to Maryland and New Mexico. The plant has also spread elsewhere from cultivation. Meadow anemone grows up to two feet tall from rhizomes (underground runners that lie parallel to the surface and sprout new plants). Large beds of plants may be found. The deeply parted leaves are on long stalks from the base of the plant. From among the largest leaves grow one to three long stalks, each bearing a five-petalled white flower about an inch wide. Look for meadow anemone in low native prairie and old road ditches. Plants grow best under idle or lightly grazed conditions. Many anemones are used in medicines and foods, but I found no mention of meadow anemone in this regard. Anemones are members of the buttercup family (Ranunculaceae). Ranunculus is Latin for "a little frog", the name applied by Pliny the Elder (23-79 A.D.) to a group of plants in this family that grows where frogs abound. The family contains our hepaticas, clematis', and columbine. The generic name Anemone is an ancient Greek and Latin corruption of the Semitic name for Adonis, from whose blood the red-flowered anemone of the Orient is said to have sprung. The specific name canadensis means "Canadian" in botanical Latin. Meadow anemone was first described for science in 1768 by the Swedish father of modern plant nomenclature Carl von Linne (Linnaeus). Source: USGS |