RANUNCULACEAE CROWFOOT FAMILY 
PRAIRIE ANEMONE 
Anemone canadensis L. 
The Prairie Anemone occurs on moist banks and prairies 
from Labrador to Pennsylvania, Kansas and Colorado. In Illi- 
nois it is not likely to be found in the extreme southern portion 
but is fairly common else- 
where. It is a perennial, 1-2 
feet tall, which often forms 
large colonies. Often cultivat- 
ed, it makes a beautiful garden 
flower. 
The leaves that 
come directly from 
the underground stem 
are 5$-7-parted or 
cleft, and long petiol- 
ed, but those on the 
flowering shoot are 
sessile. The latter 
leaves are in a whorl 
of 3, forming a pri- 
mary involucre which 
bears a naked pedun- 
cle with 1 _ flower. 
Later 2 peduncles 
arise from the same 
point and on either side of the stem of the first flower. Each has a 
2-leaved involucre at the middle, where it may branch in turn. 
The flowers are produced from May to August. There are 
no petals but the 5 or more sepals are white and petallike. 
Stamens and pistils are numerous. The fruits are akenes clus- 
tered on a circular head. 
Another common species is the Wood Anemone or Wind Flower, 
Anemone quinquefolia L. This is a delicate little plant 4-9 inches 
high, which grows in open woods or along their margins, and blooms 
in April or May. Each stem bears a single flower and an involucre 
of 3 long-petioled compound leaves, each with 3 wedge-shaped or 
oblong, toothed leaflets. The 4-7 petallike sepals are pure white 
or sometimes tinted with pink or blue, and the numerous cream- 
tipped stamens are clustered about the 15-20 green pistils at the 
center of the flower. The fruits are akenes. Compare this with the 
’ False Rue Anemone, page 108. 
105 
