Anemonastrum canadense

Anemonastrum canadense, synonym Anemone canadensis,[1] the Canada anemone, round-headed anemone, round-leaf thimbleweed,[2] meadow anemone, windflower,[3] or crowfoot, is a herbaceous perennial native to moist meadows, thickets, streambanks, and lakeshores in North America, spreading rapidly by underground rhizomes, valued for its white flowers.[4]

"Meadow anemone" redirects here. For the other plant by the same name, see Pasque flower.

Anemonastrum canadense
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Ranunculales
Family: Ranunculaceae
Genus: Anemonastrum
Species:
A. canadense
Binomial name
Anemonastrum canadense
Synonyms[1]
  • Aiolon canadense (L.) Nieuwl. & Lunell
  • Aiolon canadense f. flavum Lunell
  • Anemone canadensis L.
  • Anemone dichotoma var. canadensis (L.) MacMill.
  • Anemonidium canadense (L.) Á.Löve & D.Löve
  • Nemorosa canadensis (L.) Nieuwl.
  • Nemorsoa canadensis (L.) Nieuwl.

Description

The Canada anemone has shoots with deeply divided and toothed basal leaves on 8–22 cm (3 1⁄4–8 3⁄4 inches). They grow from ascending caudices on long, thin rhizomes. The shoots are 20–80 cm (8–31 inches) tall, and leaves are 4–10 cm (1 1⁄2–4 inches) by 5–15 cm (2–6 inches).[5]

Flowers with about 5 white, petal-like sepals and 80-100 yellow stamens bloom from late spring to summer on stems above a cluster of leaves. The sepals are obovate (with the base slightly tapered) and 10–20 mm (1⁄2–3⁄4 inch) by 5–15 mm (1⁄4–5⁄8 inch).[5]

When they are pollinated, the green pistils in the middle of the flower become a rounded to slightly lengthened seed head. The seeds are achenes, with an almost round body and a beak.[5]

  • Closeup of a flower with light green pistils in the middle of fairly old stamens, and white sepals behind them

Taxonomy

The species was first described in 1768 by Carl Linnaeus, as Anemone canadensis.[6] As traditionally and broadly circumscribed, the genus Anemone has repeatedly been shown not to be monophyletic, with genera such as Clematis and Pulsatilla embedded within it. As part of creating monophyletic genera, Sergei Mosyakin expanded the genus Anemonastrum to include Anemone canadensis as Anemonastrum canadense.[7]

Distribution

Anemonastrum canadense is native to Canada and the west central and eastern United States.[1][5]

Uses

In former times it was used medically by North American Indigenous peoples as an astringent and as a styptic for wounds, sores, nosebleeds, and as an eyewash. The root was respected by Plains tribes and used for many ailments.

Toxicity

It is likely that most anemones contain the caustic irritants of the family Ranunculaceae.[8]

References
  1. "Anemonastrum canadense (L.) Mosyakin". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 2020-08-08.
  2. Native Plant Database profile, Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, University of Texas at Austin
  3. Missouri Botanical Garden
  4. Nathaniel Lord Britton, Addison Brown (1913). An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States, Canada and the British Possessions: From Newfoundland to the Parallel of the Southern Boundary of Virginia, and from the Atlantic Ocean Westward to the 102d Meridian. 2. C. Scribner's sons. page 99
  5. Dutton, Bryan E.; Keener, Carl S.; Ford, Bruce A. (1997). "Anemone canadensis". In Flora of North America Editorial Committee (ed.). Flora of North America North of Mexico (FNA). 3. New York and Oxford. Retrieved 24 October 2016 – via eFloras.org, Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO & Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA.
  6. "Anemonastrum canadense (L.) Mosyakin", The International Plant Names Index, retrieved 2020-08-08
  7. Mosyakin, S.L. (2016). "Nomenclatural notes on North American taxa of Anemonastrum and Pulsatilla (Ranunculaceae), with comments on the circumscription of Anemone and related genera" (PDF). Phytoneuron (79): 1–12. ISSN 2153-733X.
  8. Foster, Steven and James A. Duke. Eastern/Central Medicinal Plants, "Peterson Field Guides", Houghton, Mifflin 1990 edn. ISBN 0-395-92066-3
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