The Anemone, or Wind-Flower. 321 



ANEMONE— THE ANEMONE, OR WIND-FLOWER. 



Natural Order, Ranunculacea? ; Linnaean System, Polyandria, Polygynia. 

 Generic Character : — Involucre of three leaves, more or less distant from 

 the flower; petals wanting ; calyx of from five to fifteen colored, petal-like 

 sepals ; caryopsides without feathery tails ; roots tuberous. 



^. coronaria. — Leaves ternate, deeply cut, with numerous linear segments ; 

 involucre sessile, deeply cut ; sepals six, oval, rounded. — PL 43. 



Most species of Anemone grow in elevated situations, much 



exposed to the wind, whence the generic name, from a Greek 



word, signifying wind. The species are numerous; and 



among them are not only some of the most esteemed florist's 



flowers, but also some of the most common of our northern 



wild flowers. The little Wood -Anemone, or Wind-flower, A. 



nemorosa, is the earliest harbinger of spring, often opening its 



delicate blossoms on the hill-side, before the snow has fairly 



melted away. Several foreign species are much cultivated, 



and produce very large and beautiful flowers. The plate 



represents one of the finest double-flowered varieties of the 



Poppy-Anemone. This species is a native of the south of 



Europe, and the Levant, and has been a favorite garden 



flower in England and America for many years. It is valued 



for its hardy nature, and because it will flower at almost any 



season, according to the time the roots are kept out of the 



ground, and when they are replanted. The prevailing 



colors are red, white and blue. The roots are solid, tuberous 



masses, and the plant is propagated by their division. 



The. tubers, says Mrs. Loudon, should be planted either in 

 October or February ; in the first case they will flower in 

 April, and in the latter in June. According to the usual 

 method of growing these flowers, a bed should be dug, eighteen 

 inches or two feet in depth, and at the bottom of this bed 

 should be laid a stratum, six or eight inches deep, of old cow- 

 dung ; if two years old, so much the better. The bed should 

 then be filled in with fresh loam from a field, if it can be pro- 

 cured, and if not, with good sandy loam. The bed should be 

 raised about four inches above the level of the surrounding 



Vol. I.— 21. 



