anemone

anemone

anemone (ənĕmˈənē) or windflower, any of the perennial herbs, wild or cultivated, of the genus Anemone of the family Ranunculaceae (buttercup family). A rich legendary history has gained the anemone many names and attributes. It is said to have sprung from the blood of Adonis; Romans considered it valuable in preventing fever; it has been applied for bruises and freckles; for some it is tainted with evil; and by the Chinese it has been associated with death. The name windflower is accounted for in several ways, one of which is Pliny's statement that anemone blossoms are opened by the wind. Anemones contain an acrid compound called anemonin. It is poisonous but was formerly used medicinally. Best known of the wild kinds are the white- or purplish-flowered wood anemone (A. quinquefolia), sometimes known specifically as windflower, and the greenish-white-flowered tall anemone, or thimbleweed (A. virginiana), with thimble-shaped fruit. The most common cultivated kinds include the tall, autumn-flowering Japanese anemone (A. japonica) for gardens and the florists' poppy anemones (A. coronaria), native to the Mediterranean area. Similar to the anemone is the wild rue anemone of another buttercup-family genus (Anemonella or Syndesmon). The pasqueflower is sometimes included in Anemone. Anemones are classified in the division Magnoliophyta, class Magnoliopsida, order Ranunculales, family Ranunculaceae.

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The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.

Anemone

 

(also anemony), a genus of perennial rhizome herbs (rarely semishrubs) of the family Ranunculaceae. The stem under the flowers usually has a spathe, ordinarily formed of three verticillate leaves. The flowers are variously colored and are either single or gathered in cymose inflorescences. There are about 150 species on plains and in mountain regions of both hemispheres. In the USSR there are more than 45 species; some of them, including the yellow wood anemone (A. ranunculoides) and the wood anemone (A. nemorosa), are widespread early spring flowers. Many species, including A. coronaria and A. japonica, are decoratives; most members of the genus are poisonous. Sometimes the genus Anemone is united with the genus Pulsatilla.

REFERENCE

Mnogoletnie tsvety otkrytogo grunta. Moscow, 1959.

M. E. KIRPICHNIKOV

The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition (1970-1979). © 2010 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

anemone

ordered from Flora’s court. [Gk. Myth.: Flora Symbolica, 172]

See: Banishment

Allusions—Cultural, Literary, Biblical, and Historical: A Thematic Dictionary. Copyright 2008 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

anemone

any ranunculaceous woodland plant of the genus Anemone of N temperate regions, such as the white-flowered A. nemorosa (wood anemone or windflower). Some cultivated anemones have lilac, pale blue, pink, purple, or red flowers. See also pasqueflower. Compare sea anemone (an animal).

Collins Discovery Encyclopedia, 1st edition © HarperCollins Publishers 2005