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Anemone virginiana

Common name:	Tall Thimbleweed	Family:	Ranunculaceae
Author:	L.	Botanical references:	200, 235
Synonyms:
Known Hazards:	Although no records of toxicity have been seen for this species, it belongs to a family where many of the plants are poisonous. Some caution is therefore advised[K].
Range:	Central and Eastern N. America - Nova Scotia to South Carolina, Kansas, Alberta and Arkansas.
Habitat:	Dry open woods[222]. Dry, rocky, open woods, thickets and river banks from sea level to 2000 metres[270].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	0	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	1

Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Anemone,Tall [E], Tall Thimbleweed [B,P], Thimble Weed [H],
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Ranunculales. Buttercup family
Other Range Info:	From the Ethnobotany Database
	Us(Appalachia); Us(Nc)

Physical Characteristics

Perennial growing to 0.6m. It is hardy to zone 4. It is in flower in July. 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. It can grow in full shade (deep woodland) or semi-shade (light woodland). It requires moist soil and can tolerate drought.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Woodland, Dappled Shade, Shady Edge, Deep Shade.

Edible Uses

None known

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Astringent; Emetic; Expectorant; Poultice.

The root and seeds are astringent, emetic and expectorant[222]. A decoction of the roots was used in the treatment of TB, whooping cough and diarrhoea[222, 257].
The root is pulverised and used as a wet poultice in the treatment of boils[213, 222, 257].

Other Uses

None known

Cultivation details

Succeeds in ordinary garden soil but prefers a moist well-drained woodland soil[1, 200]. Prefers a moist peaty soil in some shade[187]. Tolerates drought during its summer dormancy[200].
Plants seem to be immune to the predations of rabbits[233].
A greedy plant, inhibiting the growth of nearby plants, especially legumes[54].

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 20°c[133]. When large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on for at least their first year in a lightly shaded place in a greenhouse. When large enough, plant them out into their permanent positions in the spring.
Division in late summer after the plant dies down.

Suppliers

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

Web References

[H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.
[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 virginiana (a possible synonym).

[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

[K] Ken Fern
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.

[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]).

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

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

[187] Phillips. R. & Rix. M. Perennials Volumes 1 and 2. Pan Books 1991 ISBN 0-330-30936-9
Photographs of over 3,000 species and cultivars of ornamental plants together with brief cultivation notes, details of habitat etc.

[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.

[213] Weiner. M. A. Earth Medicine, Earth Food. Ballantine Books 1980 ISBN 0-449-90589-6
A nice book to read though it is difficult to look up individual plants since the book is divided into separate sections dealing with the different medicinal uses plus a section on edible plants. Common names are used instead of botanical.

[222] Foster. S. & Duke. J. A. A Field Guide to Medicinal Plants. Eastern and Central N. America. Houghton Mifflin Co. 1990 ISBN 0395467225
A concise book dealing with almost 500 species. A line drawing of each plant is included plus colour photographs of about 100 species. Very good as a field guide, it only gives brief details about the plants medicinal properties.

[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.

[235] Britton. N. L. Brown. A. An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States and Canada Dover Publications. New York. 1970 ISBN 0-486-22642-5
Reprint of a 1913 Flora, but still a very useful book.

[257] Moerman. D. Native American Ethnobotany Timber Press. Oregon. 1998 ISBN 0-88192-453-9
Very comprehensive but terse guide to the native uses of plants. Excellent bibliography, fully referenced to each plant, giving a pathway to further information. Not for the casual reader.

[270] Flora of N. America 0
An on-line version of the flora with an excellent description of the plant including a brief mention of plant uses.

Readers Comments

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