A study of the genus anemone as found in Manitoba

Abstract

The genus Anemone, although represented by only six species in the province, well deserves our careful consideration, if only for the reason that one of its most wide-spread members, Anemone patens, commonly known as the prairie crocus, has very fittingly been chosen as the floral emblem of Manitoba. While winter's snow yet lingers in the valleys, and not a green blade of grass can be found, this hardy little flower emerges from its furry coat, disregarding the chilling wind, and clothes every sunny hillside with lilac, encouraging us to believe that it is really Spring. The white wood anemonies, A.canadensis and A.quinquefolia, though more retiring than their predecessor, have, by the size, purity and profusion of their blooms, been rendered very attractive, are well worth a detailed study. The remaining three species, A.cylinrica, A.multifida, and A.virginiana, while their flowers are not so large or conspicuously colored, are noticeable to the most casual observer, and intensely interesting to a botanist, by reason of their curiously woolly fruits, which often remain on the plant over the winter. The position of the anemones in the systematic order of plants is as follows: Division II Spermatophyta. Subdivision II Angiospermae. Class 2 Dicotyledonae.