Rue Anemone

Here in the Blue Ridge depending on your elevation you’ll be seeing Rue Anemone (Thalictrum thalictroides) beginning to bloom around the middle of April.

This spring ephemeral is native to deciduous woodlands of eastern North America. So small, you must really look for them along the trail. They grow to only four to eight inches high.

Also known as Windflower, the flower’s thin stems give way to their waving in the tiniest breeze.

The flower itself has no actual petals, but is a circle of white or pink sepals with a dense cluster of small green pistils in the center. Those pistils are in turn surrounded by stamens with white filaments and soft yellow anthers. In summer each of the blooms are replaced by four to fifteen pale green turning to dark brown achenes, which is a fruit containing a single seed.

In May, trailside with another native flower, Golden Ragwort (Packera aurea).

And in the middle of August as things begin to shut down, take a rest, slow down and recharge for next spring.

Published by

Brenda Clements Jones

Brenda is a certified Virginia Master Naturalist, a Habitat Defender for Shenandoah National Park, and a devoted fan of Mother Nature. She lives in a cabin in the Blue Ridge Mountains near Shenandoah National Park, and hikes up to the higher elevations of her mountain often to see what nature is up to. Her constant hiking companion is a camera that captures nature as it unfolds through the seasons. It’s her goal to share the natural world around her through her photographs.

2 thoughts on “Rue Anemone”

  1. I really enjoyed today’s post about the lovely little flower! It could be because I happen to live on Windflower Lane. The pictures are great,

  2. Hello dear Mary!

    I thought of you as I wrote about the little windflower. Such a lovely lane to live on! So glad you enjoyed the photos. I really enjoy spotting these blooms every spring.

    Thank bunches for reading my post.
    Bren

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