Plant of the Week
Rue Anemone
Latin: Anemonella thalictroides
As spring finally floods over the Ozarks like a gradual awakening from a good
night’s sleep, we again become acquainted with the delicate flora of the region.
One of my favorites of these early spring bloomers is the delicate-appearing
rue anemone, common in woodlands throughout the state. Though less than a foot
tall, its white or light pink flowers make an effective display against the
brown leaf litter during March and April.
These delicate plants grow about 9 inches tall from pencil-like tuberous
roots and form small colonies. The compound leaves arise from the root system on
thin wiry petioles and are a light, glaucous gray, double or triply divided with
the leaflets about the size of a dime with three terminal notches. The leaves
have a somewhat rue-like in appearance but much more delicate than the rue of
the herb garden.
The white or delicate pink flowers are about the size of a quarter and have
from five to nine petal-like sepals that surround a pincushion of yellow-green
stamens. Because the showy parts of the flowers are sepals and not true petals,
individual blossoms remain attractive for three weeks or longer, making them one
of the longest blooming plants of the spring flora. Plants continue to bloom for
about two months.
Double-flowered white and pink forms are available from specialist growers
and look like miniature tuberous begonias.
Rue anemone, the only member of this genus, is a member of the Ranunculus
family. It’s widely distributed in the Eastern deciduous forest from East Texas
to Minnesota and all points east. It usually appears on sloping ground or forest
benches on north or east facing slopes.
Learning to identify wild flowers, especially on the curvy roads of the
Ozarks at 60 miles per hour, was one the first chores I undertook upon arrival
in the state. I soon learned that pepper root and rue anemone are two native
wild flowers that are common throughout the Ozarks and bloom in the early
spring.
Occasionally, on seeing a white flash out of the corner of my eye that didn’t
look like either pepper root or rue anemone, I would slam on the brakes and head
for the nearest precarious parking spot. All too often, after trudging back to
the spot, these unidentified white "flowers" turned out to be chicken feathers
blown from a passing Tyson truck that had stuck in bush.
Growing rue anemone in the shade garden is easy. Because the plants are
small, cluster several together in clumps to form an effective display. They
need reasonably well drained soil but will tolerate some fairly heavy clays so
long as it is on a slope.
Propagation is by division of the roots which can be done as soon as the
plants finish flowering. Once the clump is established, division is not usually
required to keep these springtime beauties blooming. Rue anemone are attuned to
dry summers under the canopy of towering oaks, so despite their delicate
appearance, babying is not necessary.
By: Gerald Klingaman, retired
Extension Horticulturist
- Ornamentals
Extension News -
April 6, 2001
Back to Archives Q - T
|
