As soon as buds begin to swell on deciduous trees, very tender plants with beautiful snow-white small flowers awaken after a long winter under their branches, as well as on the edges of spruce forests. It blooms anemone nemorosa, which is also called anemone. She is considered the very first messenger of the approaching spring. Its flowering is completed by the beginning of summer: at the time when warm spring days are established, and the trees are abundantly covered with leaves, the part of the plant that is above the ground dies. Anemone nemorosa is a wild plant. What is it like? Description and photos are presented in this article.
Legend
Very often among people you can hear the following legend: at the time when Adam and Eve were expelled from Paradise, they were sent a punishment in the form of huge flakes of snow, which abundantly sprinkled them. When Eva began to cry bitterly from chills and despondency, God took pity on the exiles and turned the falling snow into the flowers of anemone nemorosa.
Other names
The name of this plant in Latin is Anemone nemorosa, which means “daughter of the winds”. And in fact, even with the slightest breeze, the plant begins to swing. Anemone has several other popular names:
- Freckle This name was published in the book “Medicinal herbs” of the Belarusian writer, public figure - Zoska Veras.
- Kuroslep. It has such a name due to toxic effects.
- Canapel. Named due to the similarity of the leaves of the plant with hemp.
- Buttercup. Named due to the fact that anemone, like all plants of the buttercup family, contains anemonin.
- Snowdrop. These two species of plants have an external resemblance to each other.
Description
Belongs to the family of buttercups. Anemone nemorosa - an herbaceous plant for open ground. The stem of the anemone is erect, slightly pubescent, grows up to 15-25 centimeters. Rhizome with a smooth surface is horizontal. Leaflets are divided into three parts, outwardly very similar to hemp leaves, leaf arrangement is another. Petals of a flower can be white, pale pink or, much less often, a lilac shade. According to the description of anemone anemone, the bud usually consists of six petals, but their number can reach 7-8, the diameter of the flower is 20-30 mm.
Anemone blooms in April and ends in late May. A little later, in June, a fruit is formed with a large number of seeds, which are in the middle of the flower, in a seed box. The sepals of this species of plants are absent, which is why delicate petals sway even with the slightest breeze. According to flower growers, thanks to this feature, anemone oak and got its name.
Types of Anemones
Currently, several of the most popular species of this plant are distinguished. All of them have only small differences among themselves: they are distinguished by shades of colors and size. Due to the fact that they contain anemol oil, they are all poisonous. Consider the most popular types:
- Altai. Grows in the Siberian region. Has many common characteristics with oak grove. It blooms in late April, the flower is characterized by the presence of more narrow petals.
- Blue A beautiful, spectacular flower of a thin form, grows no more than 20 cm. Blue flowers in diameter no more than one and a half centimeters, they are collected in inflorescences. Distribution zone - Siberian forests.
- Dubravna. Up to 25 cm high. Has flowers of a white shade. It grows in central Russia, in a park area. It is grown on personal plots.
- Buttercup. It grows up to 25 cm, the petals are bright yellow in the amount of 5 pieces. Flowering begins in May. Widely distributed throughout Russia. Grown in park areas and in garden areas.
- Tender. This type of plant has a thickened short rhizome. It is the smallest of all species - no more than 15 cm tall. Blue flowers are collected from five petals. It grows in the Caucasus.
- Intermediate. A hybrid of oak and anemone buttercup. This species was obtained as a result of self-pollination of two species growing nearby. They have similar symptoms. They can be either white or yellow.
Habitat
Most often, this forest beauty can be seen in deciduous forests - it is there that the most favorable conditions for its growth are: fertile loose soil, a lot of darkened space. From the presented photo, anemone anemone is clearly visible that most often it grows in groups, thus forming extensive thickets. Propagated in two ways: using seeds, and due to root shoots.
Gardening Anemone
Experienced gardeners grow this plant as an early flowering perennial. It is not demanding on the conditions of care, it is only necessary to carefully select a place for landing. Fertile, alkaline soil is best suited for it. As for lighting, anemone should be planted in well-lit places. With proper care, favorable conditions, flowering can occur already in the third year after planting. Planted it to decorate garden paths, lawns and various flower beds. Currently, more than two dozen of the most varied varieties of oak anemone have been bred. The following varieties are most popular in gardening:
- Dark Leaf. The variety has small white flowers and dark brown, almost black leaves.
- Blue eyes A terry white variety was brought into our country from New England. In the center, the color of the flower is pale blue, closer to the edges of the petal it gradually turns into milky white.
- Hilda. It belongs to a semi-double variety, the inflorescence consists of two rows of snow-white very dense petals.
- Vestal. Dense flowers with a middle pompom. Variety of late flowering.
- Birka. The main difference between this variety is the disheveled shape of the petals, the edges of which are painted in purple.
- Blue Bonnet It is characterized by abundant flowering, the color of the flower is silver-blue. Stunted plant.
- Isabell One of the most popular decorative varieties. A distinctive feature is the color of the petals from the inside to the lilac color.
On the brink of extinction
Dubrovnaya anemone grows in oak forests, which are located in the European part of Russia. Currently, there is a reduction in oak groves, so this type of plant is disappearing. Another reason for the disappearance of this plant is the increased interest in people. Without hesitation, they pluck large armfuls of these amazing delicate flowers, often together with the root system. It should be noted that the first flowering in this plant occurs only in the tenth year of life.
Redwood Anemone in the Red Book
Today this plant is quite rare, protected by the state, and in a number of areas it is listed in the Red Book. Note the area data:
- Bryansk;
- Belgorod;
- Vologda;
- Vladimirskaya;
- Moscow;
- Murmansk;
- Novgorod;
- Oryol;
- Smolenskaya;
- Tula;
- Yaroslavskaya
In addition, it should be noted the Stavropol Territory and Mari El.
In order to preserve this fragile culture, which has a lot of useful properties, it is first necessary to prohibit mass gatherings in places of natural growth, and its cultivation should also be increased.
Healing properties
Due to the fact that the plant contains substances such as anemone, vitamin C, tannin, organic acids, saponin, alkaloids, anemone has an extensive range of healing properties:
- Antifungal - destroys various fungal formations.
- Painkiller - reduces the pain threshold for pain.
- Expectorant - quickly removes sputum, while reducing its viscosity.
- Bactericidal - able to neutralize the causative agents of any infectious diseases.
- Sweatshops - helps remove salts and toxins from the body.
Using
Anemone nemorosa - a plant with a lot of healing properties. Therefore, it is often used in the manufacture of drugs for eczema, dermatitis, gout, migraine, rheumatism, purulent wounds, sexual weakness. But you must remember that the plant is poisonous! Therefore, tinctures can be used only after consultation with a doctor and in small quantities.