CROWFOOT FAMILY RANUNCULACEAE 
FALSE RUE ANEMONE 
Isopyrum biternatum (Raf.) T. & G. 
The False Rue Anemone, which blooms in April and May, 
is found in moist shady places from Ontario to Minnesota and 
south to Florida and Texas. It is common in Illinois and is often 
mistaken for the Wood 
Anemone, page 105. 
It will be well to 
understand the differ- 
ences between the two 
species. In both, the 
corolla is lacking and 
the sepals are white 
and petallike. In the 
Wood Anemone the 
sepals are 4-7, the 
stamens are numerous 
and the pistils 15-20. 
In the False Rue Ane- 
mone there are prac- 
tically always 5 sepals, 
10-40 stamens and usu- 
ally only 4 pistils, 
though there may be 
3-6. The Wood Ane- 
mone bears only 1 
flower and a whorl of 
3 leaves in an involucre 
on each upright stem, 
whereas the False Rue Anemone bears several flowers in the axils 
of alternate leaves, as well as a terminal flower. The fruits of 
the Wood Anemone are akenes and those of the False Rue 
Anemone are capsules containing 2 or more seeds. 
The fibrous roots of the False Rue Anemone are thickened 
at intervals into little tubers, but such tubers are not found on 
the roots of the Wood Anemone. On the other hand, the Wood 
Anemone has an underground stem, which the False Rue 
Anemone has not. 
The False Rue Anemone is also frequently mistaken for the 
Rue Anemone, page Io1, which it closely resembles. 
108 
