148 THE ASSOCIATIONS OF FLOWERS 
The anemone derives its name from a Greek word, 
“anemos/’ signifying wind; and its English name of 
wind-flower is a common and poetical appellation. This 
has been given to it because many of the species grow 
on elevated situations, where they are exposed to high 
winds, or, according to other writers, because they tremble 
and shiver before the blasts of spring. Pliny asserts that 
it never blooms except when the winds blow. Though 
most frequently found under the shelter of overhanging 
branches, the wood anemone sometimes rears its frail- 
looking flower upon the summits of hills and mountains, 
fearless of the storm. It is evident that the shelter of 
trees is not necessary to it, since it may occasionally be 
found in pastures; and on spots which have once been 
woods, but on which the trees have been felled, it rises 
up, year after year, exposed to all the fitful gusts of March 
and April. 
This plant is considered very unwholesome to cattle; 
and two species of anemone wdiich grow wild in America 
are quite fatal to animals who eat them. 
The Egyptians regarded the anemone as an emblem of 
sickness, probably on account of its noxious properties. 
Perhaps, however, the frail and delicate appearance of the 
wood species first suggested the idea. The flush of pale 
red which tinges the white petals of the wood anemone, 
might well remind us of that delicate glow which lingers 
on the cheek of the consumptive sufferer, marking to 
others the inward decay, but giving a lustre and a glow 
of beauty which deceive its victim. 
The wood anemone is another of our wiid-flowers pecu- 
liarly sensitive to the changes of weather. When a storm 
threatens the wood, the flower closes; and if 
“ Between the gloaming and the mirk, 
When the kye come hame,''’ 
we wander into the quiet copses, we shall find it closed. 
The winds of heaven have sung their evening psalm among 
the branches, and the wood flower is hushed to sleep. 
The wood anemone, though generally a common flower, 
is not found in some counties of England. It is most 
prevalent on moist soils. 
