TALL ANEMONE
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TALL ANEMONE

Anemone virginiana
BUTTERCUP FAMILY (Ranunculaceae)

Identification

  • Flowering time - June, July
  • Rare in upland woods at FF & NW
  • Long-stalked white to greenish white 5 petaled flower with bulbous, prickly looking center
  • Stalked, deeply divided leaves
  • "Thimble" shaped seed head - see comments for comparison with similar Candle Anemone
  • TALL ANEMONE
  • TALL ANEMONE
  • TALL ANEMONE
Click on each photo thumbnail to enlarge.

This native perennial grows up to 3 feet tall. Upright stems have both basal leaves and whorls of stalked leaves (usually 3) with 3-5 deeply cut lobes which are themselves somewhat lobed (B). Flowers at the tips of the stems most often have 5 white to greenish-white petal-like sepals.  They surround a ring of yellow anthers and a bulbous green center (A.C) which is densely covered with protruding styles giving it a prickly appearance (D)  As the flower matures, the center develops into an elliptical, thimble-like seed head containing many tiny black seeds with fluffy white hairs, enabling their dispersal by the wind. The cottony white seed heads often persist well into the winter.

 

 

Tall Anemone is most likely to be found in upland woodlands or edges at Fontenelle Forest or Neale Woods.  In recent years it has been hard to find.

Flowering occurs from June through July.

Tall Anemone and its look alike Candle Anemone (Anemone cylindrica) are not always possible to separate.  Generally, Tall Anemone has a shorter, more oval (thimble-like) seed head than Candle Anemone (Anemone cylindrica). Soo…… if the seed head is more than twice as long as wide, it is most likely Candle Anemone.  Also, Tall Anemone is mostly a woodland species while Candle Anemone prefers more open habitats.  Stalked leaves differentiate it from Canada Anemone (Anemone canadensis), a species found in wetter soils mainly on the floodplain. It usually forms large colonies, unlike its more solitary relatives.

An alternate common name, prompted by the shape of its seed head, is Thimbleweed.

 

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