AMERICAN PASQUEFLOWER 



Pulsatilla ludoviciana (Nuttall) Heller 



The pasqueflower is one of the loveliest of the anemones. It is 

 known commonly in the Canadian Rockies as "wild crocus." In early 

 spring the stalks push through the ground as soon as the snow disap- 

 pears, and flower before the leaves unfold. In dry regions, like the upper 

 valley of the Columbia River in British Columbia, there sometimes fol- 

 lows a second period of blooming, when rain comes in late summer 

 after a dry season, but these summer flowers are inferior in size and 

 beauty to those of spring. 



The pasqueflower is really a prairie plant. It is found from Michigan 

 and Illinois to Texas, Washington, and Alaska. It has been selected as 

 the State flower of South Dakota. 



The sketch was made from a specimen gathered in July near the 

 summit of Sulphur Mountain at Banff, Alberta, Canada, at 8,000 feet 

 elevation. 



PLATE 95 



