RANUNCULACEAE 



CROWFOOT FAMILY 



PASQUE FLOWER 



Anrmone patens L. var. IVolfgangiana (Bess.) Koch 



The Pasque Flower is found blooming in March and April 

 only in dry soil in the prairie portions of Illinois and Wisconsin, 

 northwest to British Columbia and southward into Texas. It is 

 locally very abundant on dry 

 barren rolling knolls along the 

 northern line of Jo Daviess, 

 Carroll, Stephenson, Winnebago, 

 Boone and McHenry counties, 

 and the northwest corner of Cook 

 county. 



The plant is a perennial herb 

 covered with silky hairs and 

 having a thick underground stem. 

 It produces a cluster of basal 

 leaves which are long petioled 

 and palmately divided into nar- 

 row segments. The upright stem, 

 6-16 inches high, bears a solitary 

 purple or white flower and some 

 distance below it an involucre of 

 3 sessile leaves. 



The 5-7 sepals are petallike 

 and form the conspicuous part of 

 the flower. There are no petals 

 but usually there are some very 

 small glandular stamens that do 

 not produce pollen and have the 

 position of petals. The inner 

 stamens have anthers and produce 

 pollen. The pistils are numerous and have long silky styles. 



The akene fruits are in a head and have long feathery styles 

 like those of some species of Clematis^ page 106. After flowering, 

 the peduncle usually elongates, sometimes to i toot or more, 

 so that the fruits are well exposed to the wind. They are often 

 blown considerable distances. 



The dews drip roses on the meadows 

 Where the meek daisies dot the sward. 



Spring — Fh.\nci s Lkdwidge 



103 



