PLUME ANEMONE 
Pulsatilla occidentalis (Watson) Freyn 
FRUIT OF PLATE 163 
In the long days of June and July the seeds of alpine plants ripen 
tapidly, and the flowers of the plume anemone soon are replaced by 
silvery gtay-green seed heads. These are almost as beautiful as the 
flowers, and the head of silky seed tails, all smoothed sleekly from the 
center of the cluster, reminds one of nothing so much as the crown 
of a child’s curly head. When ripe the “seeds” are easily detached from 
the stem, the long feathery tail supporting them on their wind-blown 
journey in search of a favorable situation for germination. These seed 
heads are telished by the marmots, which eat them upon the spot, 
or carry them totheir winter caches. The marmots also pile them into 
soft beds in their burrows. 
This member of the Crowfoot Family ranges from Montana to 
California and northward to Alberta and Alaska. 
The specimen sketched was collected near the summit of the pass 
at the head of Johnson Creek, Alberta, Canada, at an elevation of 
8,500 feet. 
PLATE 164 
