Anemone caroliniana

Native

Dry. Prairies, barrens, pastures, meadows, open woods. Full or partial sun.

April to May

White to rose or blue to purple

4″ to 6″

This is an erect perennial rising from a globular, ascending or vertical tuber and one to several ascending or horizontal rhizomes. The rhizomes grow quickly and the plant is often found carpeting large areas.

One to three basal leaves rise from the ground on stalks 1″ to 4″ long. They are divided into three leaflets, each of which is again divided into three lobes. The leaflets are hairless and toothed. In early spring the leaves are often reddish purple, but they eventually turn green.

A solitary flower rises at the top of an reddish purple, unbranched stem that is hairless at the base but has long, soft, shaggy, but unmatted hairs near the top.

On the lower part of the stem is a whorl of 3 leaves. The stem leaves are similar to the basal leaves only smaller, ½″ to 1″ long. They are attached to the stem without a stalk and are fused at the base. They are divided into three leaflets, each of which is again divided into three lobes with pointed tips. The leaflets are toothed above the middle and have sparse long, soft, straight hairs.

The flower is 1″ to 1½″ wide, daisy-like, unscented, with 10 to 20 white to rose or purple, petal-like sepals. At the center are a number of yellow pistils and stamens. The bud is light pink or light purple. The flowers open in the morning and close by mid-afternoon.