Back to Anemones: Anemone Canadensis

After just two posts on Anemones, I'm already out of sequence. The Anemone Canadensis in the first photo bloomed in late spring. This Anemone was the second one to bloom after the early Anemone Sylvestris. At first glance I thought the second two photos were of the first plant but the flowers look different. The leaves have the same palmate characteristic so I thought they were the same plant but I'll have to do more checking to be sure.

I also found out that Hepatica acutiloba the sharp lobed Hepatica is now classified in the Genus Anemone, as Anemone acutiloba. So I should dig up my photos of my H. acutiloba and add it to my Anemone list. Anemones are also closely related to the late spring blooming Pasque Flower.

Anemones are also known as windflowers. Apparently the name comes from the rather sad tale that the Anemone sprung from the blood of Adonis, Aphrodite's slain lover. The wind is said to open the flowers but also blows away the dead petals in apparent consonance with the sad event. Another source, Botanical.com states: "The English name is derived from its Greek signification (wind) and is due to the fact that so many of its species grow on elevated places exposed to high winds; other writers attribute the name to the trembling of the flower before the blasts of spring."

Also from Botanical.com: "The Egyptians held the Anemone as the emblem of sickness, perhaps from the flush of colour upon the backs of the white sepals. The Chinese call it the 'Flower of Death.' In some European countries it is looked on by the peasants as a flower of ill-omen, though the reason of the superstition is obscure. The Romans plucked the first Anemones as a charm against fever, and in some remote districts this practice long survived, it being considered a certain cure to gather an Anemone saying, 'I gather this against all diseases,' and to tie it round the invalid's neck.

Greek legends say that Anemos, the Wind, sends his namesakes the Anemones, in the earliest spring days as the heralds of his coming. Pliny affirmed that they only open when the wind blows, hence their name of Windflower, and the unfolding of the blossoms in the rough, windy days of March has been the theme of many poets:
'Coy anemone that ne'er uncloses
Her lips until they're blown on by the wind.' "


Anemone Canadensis





Anemone ??? The same type of leaves as A. Canadensis can be seen in the background.