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Anemone nemorosa

Anemone nemorosa: Plant
Photo by Ken Fern. High resolution version

Anemone nemorosa: Plant
Photo by Ken Fern. High resolution version

Anemone nemorosa: Branch with leaves and flowes
Photo by NatEnv. High resolution version

Common name:	Wood Anemone	Family:	Ranunculaceae
Author:	L.	Botanical references:	17, 200
Synonyms:
Known Hazards:	This species is slightly poisonous, the toxic principle is destroyed by heat or by drying[4, 10, 19, 65].
Range:	Throughout the northern temperate zone of C. Europe, including Britain, and W. Asia.
Habitat:	Woodland and shady hillsides in all but the most base deficient or water-logged soils[7, 17, 90].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	0	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	1

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	Anemonidium nemorosum[B,P]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Anemona De Los Prados [E], Anemone,Wood [E], Bosanemoon [D], Crowfoot [H], European Thimbleweed [B,P], Herbe Du Cancer [E], Nemorosa [E], Ormanlalesi [E], Smell Fox [H], Windflower [H], Wood Anemone [H,L,MS],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	nemorosa = in groves;
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Ranunculales. Buttercup family
Other Range Info:	From the Ethnobotany Database
	Chile; Europe; Spain; Turkey; Us(Sc)

Physical Characteristics

Perennial growing to 0.15m by 0.3m at a fast rate. It is hardy to zone 5 and is not frost tender. It is in flower from March to May, and the seeds ripen from May to June. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Bees and flies. The plant is self-fertile. We rate it 0/5 for edibility and 1/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils and can grow in very alkaline soil. It can grow in full shade (deep woodland) semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It requires dry or moist soil and can tolerate drought.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Meadow, Woodland, Dappled Shade, Shady Edge, Deep Shade.

Edible Uses

None known

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Antirheumatic; Homeopathy; Rubefacient; Tonic.

The leaves are antirheumatic, rubefacient and tonic[7, 19, 46]. The plant is sometimes used externally as a counter-irritant in the treatment of rheumatism[7]. The herb is gathered in spring before the plant comes into flower[7].
Various parts of this herb used to be recommended for a variety of complaints such as headaches and gout, though the plant is virtually not used nowadays[4].
A homeopathic remedy has been made from the leaves[7].

Other Uses

None known

Cultivation details

Prefers a moist soil[1, 90, 200] but tolerates dry conditions during its summer dormancy[200]. Plants tolerate dry conditions and drought so long as there is plenty of humus in the soil[190]. Prefers a well-drained humus-rich soil[200]. Dislikes very acid soils[13]. Prefers a shady position, growing well on woodland edges[24, 90], but plants can also be naturalized in thin turf[200].
Plants seem to be immune to the predations of rabbits[233].
A greedy plant, inhibiting the growth of nearby plants, especially legumes[54]. The plant has a running rootstock and can spread rapidly when well-sited[4].
A very ornamental plant[1], there are several named varieties[190].

Propagation

Seed - best sown in a cold frame as soon as it is ripe in the summer[1]. Surface sow or only just cover the seed and keep the soil moist. Sow stored seed as soon as possible in late winter or early spring. The seed usually germinates in 1 - 6 months at 15°c[133]. When large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in light shade in the greenhouse for at least their first year. When the plants are large enough, plant them out in the spring.
Division in late summer after the plant dies down.

Cultivars

'': There are some named forms for this species, but these have been developed for their ornamental value and not for their other uses. Unless you particularly require the special characteristics of any of these cultivars, we would generally recommend that you grow the natural species for its useful properties. We have, therefore, not listed the cultivars in this database[K].

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

Web References

Details of Medicinal Uses, Habitats, etc. in M. Grieve A Modern Herbal (1931) [4]
[H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
[L] Scientific and Common Names (some photos) from Lepidoptera and some other life forms
[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.
[V] Images from the Vascular Plant Image Gallery of the Texas A&M Bioinformatics Working Group.
[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

References for anemone nemorosa (a possible synonym).

[HP] PhotoFrom Henriette's plant pictures
[HP] PhotoFrom Henriette's plant pictures
[HP] PhotoFrom Henriette's plant pictures
[HP] PhotoFrom Henriette's plant pictures
[HP] PhotoFrom Henriette's plant pictures

References for the family Ranunculaceae.

[CHINA] Data Very detailed botanical/identification info. from the Flora of China.

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).

[4] Grieve. A Modern Herbal. Penguin 1984 ISBN 0-14-046-440-9
Not so modern (1930's?) but lots of information, mainly temperate plants.

[7] Chiej. R. Encyclopaedia of Medicinal Plants. MacDonald 1984 ISBN 0-356-10541-5
Covers plants growing in Europe. Also gives other interesting information on the plants. Good photographs.

[10] Altmann. H. Poisonous Plants and Animals. Chatto and Windus 1980 ISBN 0-7011-2526-8
A small book, reasonable but not very detailed.

[13] Triska. Dr. Hamlyn Encyclopaedia of Plants. Hamlyn 1975 ISBN 0-600-33545-3
Very interesting reading, giving some details of plant uses and quite a lot of folk-lore.

[17] Clapham, Tootin and Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press 1962
A very comprehensive flora, the standard reference book but it has no pictures.

[19] Stary. F. Poisonous Plants. Hamlyn 1983 ISBN 0-600-35666-3
Not very comprehensive, but easy reading.

[24] Baines. C. Making a Wildlife Garden.
Fairly good with lots of ideas about creating wildlife areas in the garden.

[46] Uphof. J. C. Th. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim 1959
An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.

[54] Hatfield. A. W. How to Enjoy your Weeds. Frederick Muller Ltd 1977 ISBN 0-584-10141-4
Interesting reading.

[65] Frohne. D. and Pfänder. J. A Colour Atlas of Poisonous Plants. Wolfe 1984 ISBN 0723408394
Brilliant. Goes into technical details but in a very readable way. The best work on the subject that I've come across so far.

[90] Phillips. R. and Rix. M. Bulbs Pan Books 1989 ISBN 0-330-30253-1
Superbly illustrated, it gives brief details on cultivation and native habitat.

[133] Rice. G. (Editor) Growing from Seed. Volume 1. Thompson and Morgan. 1987
Very readable magazine with lots of information on propagation.

[190] Chatto. B. The Dry Garden. Dent 1982 ISBN 0460045512
A good list of drought resistant plants with details on how to grow them.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[233] Thomas. G. S. Perennial Garden Plants J. M. Dent & Sons, London. 1990 ISBN 0 460 86048 8
A concise guide to a wide range of perennials. Lots of cultivation guides, very little on plant uses.

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Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
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