Wood anemone (Anemona nemorosa)

Wood anemones appear all of a sudden. One single flower rises its head… and shortly afterwards they carpet the forest floor or the brink of a ditch.

Since they love the forest floor, they flower in spring, when the trees aren’t in leaf yet and the sun shines through them. The wood anemones take advantage of its warmth, which brings them to the surface. But when the trees start growing leaves, the anemones receive less and less light. They drop their flowers and disappear. Only their roots remain, waiting for the next spring, when their will reappear in full splendor.

 

Anemones can grow so plentiful, because they propagate by means of rootstocks. From these arise a growing number of plants, weaving a marvelous flower carpet on the woodland floor.

How can you identify a wood anemone?

Wood anemones are flowering plants, growing 10-25 cm tall and featuring white flowers. They are typically found on the floor of woodlands, sometimes thousands together. In the morning the flowers hang down like bells, but as soon as the air dries and the sun breaks through, they spread their petals.

The wood anemone has three green sepals and six white petals, the underside of the petals often being pale pink.

Source: Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences