feet) up to timberline (12,000 feet). Globe anemone occurs in a variety of 

 soils on rather dry to rnoist sites and prefers sunny situations, but occasionally 

 appears in open timber stands. The flowers vary in color from, deep rose 

 pink or red to purple, greenish yellow, white, and, sometimes, even bluish 

 tinged. This anemone does not occur in dense stands, but is often abundant. 

 It is generally more conspicuous in fruit because the numerous white-woolly 

 "seeds" are borne at the top of the flower stalk in rounded, globe-shaped heads, 

 which, when loosened by the wind, resemble balls of cotton. As forage, globe 

 anemone is unimportant, being practically worthless for all classes of livestock. 

 In some regions it is slightly palatable to sheep, and it is probably eaten to 

 some extent by deer and elk. 



ANEMONES (Anemo'ne spp.) 



The Greek name for these flowers comes from uncinos (wind), presumably 

 because they supposedly opened at the command of the first mild breezes of 

 spring, as the English name, windflower, suggests. 3 Anemones, of which about 

 85 species occur in the temperate and mountainous regions of the world, are 

 well represented in the West where they flourish on moist and well-drained 

 soils from near timberline on the mountains to the lower elevations in the 

 foothills and valleys, in both open and shaded situations. 



Some species constitute fair forage for sheep, deer, and elk, but, in the main, 

 the anemones are practically worthless for cattle and only poor for sheep. 

 Ordinarily, they are insignificant for forage purposes, largely because the more 

 succulent species appear early and then quickly desiccate. 



The flowers of some anemones are produced very early, with the first advent 

 of spring, adding their bright colors to the rather drab landscape of the season. 

 They are rather hardy, perennial herbs, various species being cultivated because 

 of their beautiful, showy flowers and, in several cases, for their striking foliage 

 as well. Very few of the commonly cultivated species are native to the west- 

 ern United States, although cantlle anemone (A. cylindrioa) and meadow 

 anemone (A. canadensis) are common garden species extending into the West. 



Several species of anemone, in common with many other members of the 

 buttercup family, are known to contain anemonin, a poison which affects 

 powerfully the central nervous system. This poisonous substance occurs in the 

 European wood anemone (A. nemorosa) and probably occurs in the closely 

 related American wood anemone (A. quinquefolia) and in many other species. 

 These plants are known to contain poisonous substances, 8 although there is 

 no authentic record, apparently, of any cases of poisoning from them in the 

 United States. However, it is reported that European wood anemone has 

 caused illness of cattle in Europe. 4 



Anemonin is one of the active principles of the drug pulsatilla, which is the 

 dried herbage of species of pasqueflowers (Pulsatilla spp.), which are closely 

 related to the anemones and by many authors placed in the anemone genus. 

 Some species of anemone were used by the Romans as a treatment for malarial 

 fevers; American Indians used anemone roots in the treatment of wounds and 

 attributed to them mystical healing powers. 5 



The western species are perennials with rootstocks or tuberous roots, from 

 which stalks 3 to 30 inches high, arise. These stalks are bare except for two 

 or three very irregular, deeply cut leaves (the involucre) close to the flowers 

 or part way up the stalk. The flowers are borne at the ends of the branches 

 and may occur singly or in curved or flat clusters, those at the center being 

 the first to blossom. Only the outer series of petal-like flower parts (sepals), 

 which vary in color from purple to white, are present in Anemone. The 

 roughly cylindrical seed head is usually rounded or elongated and, when ripe, 

 the "seeds" (achenes) are often densely hairy, giving the head a cottony 

 appearance. 



2 Skinner, C. M. MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF FLOWERS, TREES, FRUITS, AND PLANTS IN ALL 

 AGES AND IN ALL CLIMES. [302] pp. illus. Philadelphia and London. [1925.] 



8 Long, H. C. PLANTS POISONOUS TO LIVESTOCK. 119 pp., illus. Cambridge. 1917. 



4 Wood, H. C., Remington, J. P., and Sadtler, S. P., assisted by Lyons, A. B., and Wood, 



H. C., Jr. THE DISPENSATORY OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, BY DR. GEO. B. WOOD 



AND DR. FRANKLIN BACHE. Ed. 19, thoroughly rev. and largely rewritten. . . 1,947 

 pp. Philadelphia and London. 1907. 



5 Gilmore, M. R. USES OF PLANTS BY THE INDIANS OF THE MISSOURI RIVER REGION. 

 U. S. Bur. Amer. Ethnol. Rept. (1911-12) 33:45-154, illus. 1919. (Reprinted, 1919). 



