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, i-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 I 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 qninqnejolia 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 



