68 The Romance of Wild Flowers 
In the Wood Anemone (Anemone nemorosa) we 
have flowers of considerable beauty, entirely due to 
the six or more sepals, which 
have been enlarged and 
coloured white, sometimes 
tinted with pink, purple, or 
blue, whilst the petals are 
entirely unrepresented. The 
rootstock is cylindrical and 
tough, creeping just below 
the mossy soil of the copse 
and woodland, sending up 
separate leaf - stalks and 
flower - stalks. The leaves 
are divided into three wedge- 
shaped, cut-edged leaflets, and 
the flower-stem bears three 
similar leafy bracts half-way 
up to the solitary nodding 
flower. There are many 
stamens, and numerous ear- 
pels, which become one-seeded, downy achenes. 
Both sets of organs mature simultaneously, and 
although no honey is offered, bees visit the flowers, 
attracted by their colour, pierce tender parts of the 
flower, and suck up the exuding juice. Cross- and 
self- fertilisation occur indifferently. 
It would appear to be the aim of the Buttercups 
and some of their relations to have the bright colours 
of their flowers seen from below as well as from 
above, for there is a tendency to throw off their 
sepals soon after expansion, so that they may not 
obstruct the view of the shining gold. These yellow 
Wood Anemone 
