CROWFOOT FAMILY 



RANUNCULACEAE 



FALSE RUE ANEMONE 



Isopyrum hiternatiim (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 ^ sepals, 

 10-40 stamens and usu- 

 ally only 4 pistils, 

 though there may be 

 2-G. The Wood Ane- 

 mone bears only i 

 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 tor the 

 Rue Anemone, page loi, which it closely resembles. 



108 



