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Ranunculaceae FAMILY

Anemone virginiana

Anemone virginiana

Edibility
0/5
Medicinal
2/5

Safety & Hazards

Although no specific mention has been seen for this species, many members of this genus contain protoanemonin, an irritating acrid oil that is an enzymatic breakdown product of the glycoside ranunculin. While protoanemonin can cause severe topical and gastrointestinal irritation, it is unstable and changes into harmless anemonin when plants are dried or heated[1, 2, 3, 4, 5].

Cultivation Details

HabitPerennial
Growth—

Anemone virginiana experiences cold winters in northern USA, with temperatures falling below -20°c, whilst in the south of its range winters are much milder, with temperatures rarely dropping below -5°c. Succeeds in ordinary garden soil but prefers a moist well-drained woodland soil[6, 7]. Prefers a moist peaty soil in some shade, tolerating deep shade[8, 9]. Tolerates drought during its summer dormancy[7]. Plants seem to be immune to the predations of rabbits[10]. A greedy plant, inhibiting the growth of nearby plants, especially legumes[11].

Propagation

Seed - best sown in a cold frame as soon as it is ripe in the summer[6]. Surface sow or only just cover the seed and keep the soil moist. Sow stored seed as soon as possible in late winter or early spring. The seed usually germinates in 1 - 6 months at 20°c[12]. When large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on for at least their first year in a lightly shaded place in a greenhouse. When large enough, plant them out into their permanent positions in the spring. Division in late summer after the plant dies down. Cite as: Temperate Plants Database, Ken Fern. temperate.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <temperate.theferns.info/plant/Anemone+virginiana>

Pollinators

Bees, Flies, Self

References

  1. [1]A Modern Herbal. — Grieve. · Penguin · 1984 · ISBN 0-14-046-440-9 ↩︎Not so modern (1930's?) but lots of information, mainly temperate plants.
  2. [2]Poisonous Plants and Animals. — Altmann. H. · Chatto and Windus · 1980 · ISBN 0-7011-2526-8 ↩︎A small book, reasonable but not very detailed.
  3. [3]Poisonous Plants. — Stary. F. · Hamlyn · 1983 · ISBN 0-600-35666-3 ↩︎Not very comprehensive, but easy reading.
  4. [4]A Colour Atlas of Poisonous Plants. — Frohne. D. and Pfänder. J. · Wolfe · 1984 · ISBN 0723408394 ↩︎Brilliant. Goes into technical details but in a very readable way. The best work on the subject that I've come across so far.
  5. [5]Flora of N. America — http://flora.huh.harvard.edu/fna/ ↩︎An on-line version of the flora with an excellent description of the plant including a brief mention of plant uses.
  6. [6]RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 — F. Chittendon. · Oxford University Press · 1951 · ISBN - ↩︎Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaced in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [ 200 ]).
  7. [7]The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. — Huxley. A. · MacMillan Press · 1992 · ISBN 0-333-47494-5 ↩︎Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
  8. [8]Perennials. Volumes 1 and 2. — Phillips. R. & Rix. M. · Pan Books · 1991 · ISBN 0-330-30936-9 ↩︎Photographs of over 3,000 species and cultivars of ornamental plants together with brief cultivation notes, details of habitat etc.
  9. [9]KemperCentreForHomeGardeningPlantFinder — Missouri Botanical Garden · http://www.mobot.org/gardeninghelp/plantfinder/ ↩︎Basic cultivation details, plant uses, habitat etc for several thousand species of plants, mainly from the temperate zone.
  10. [10]Perennial Garden Plants — Thomas. G. S. · J. M. Dent & Sons, London. · 1990 · ISBN 0 460 86048 8 ↩︎A concise guide to a wide range of perennials. Lots of cultivation guides, very little on plant uses.
  11. [11]How to Enjoy your Weeds. — Hatfield. A. W. · Frederick Muller Ltd · 1977 · ISBN 0-584-10141-4 ↩︎Interesting reading.
  12. [12]Growing from Seed. Volume 1. — Rice. G. (Editor) · Thompson and Morgan. · 1987 · ISBN - ↩︎Very readable magazine with lots of information on propagation.
  13. [13]A Field Guide to Medicinal Plants. Eastern and Central N. America. — Foster. S. & Duke. J. A. · Houghton Mifflin Co. · 1990 · ISBN 0395467225 ↩︎A concise book dealing with almost 500 species. A line drawing of each plant is included plus colour photographs of about 100 species. Very good as a field guide, it only gives brief details about the plants medicinal properties.
  14. [14]Native American Ethnobotany — Moerman. D. · Timber Press. Oregon. · 1998 · ISBN 0-88192-453-9 ↩︎Very comprehensive but terse guide to the native uses of plants. Excellent bibliography, fully referenced to each plant, giving a pathway to further information. Not for the casual reader.
  15. [15]Earth Medicine, Earth Food. — Weiner. M. A. · Ballantine Books · 1980 · ISBN 0-449-90589-6 ↩︎A nice book to read though it is difficult to look up individual plants since the book is divided into separate sections dealing with the different medicinal uses plus a section on edible plants. Common names are used instead of botanical.