Botanical Name: Anemone narcissiflora
Family: Ranunculaceae
Kingdom: Plantae
Order: Ranunculales
Genus: Anemone
Species: A. narcissiflora
Common Names:Narcissus-Flowered Anemone, Narcissus anemone
Habitat : Anemone narcissiflora is native to north western North America and Eurasia where it can be found growing in high mountain alpine grasslands, in thickets, grassy meadows with moist soils, tundra, open woods, along roadsides and in pastures. It grows on grassy, peaty but well-drained alpine meadows, occasionally in partial shade.
Description:
Anemone narcissiflora is a herbaceous perennial plant, it grows 7 to 60 cm (2 .75 to 23.5 inches) tall, from a caudex (woody-like perennial base), flowering spring to mid summer but often found flowering till late summer. They have 3-10 basal leaves that are ternate (arranged with three leaflets), rounded to rounded triangular in shape with 4-to-20-millimetre (5/32-to-25/32-inch) long petioles.
The flowers are produced in clusters (umbels) with 2 to 8 flowers, but often appear singly. The inflorescence have 3 leaf-like bracts similar in appearance to the basal leaves but simple and greatly reduced in size, pinnatifid in shape. Flowers have no petals, but instead have 5-9 petal-like sepals that are white, blue-tinted white or yellow in color. The flowers usually have 40 to 80 stamens but can have up to 100.
After flowering, fruits are produced in rounded heads with 5–14-centimetre (2–5.5-inch) long pedicels. When the fruits, called achenes, are ripe they are ellipsoid to ovate in outline, flat in shape and 5 to 9 millimetres (3/16 to 11/32 in) long and 4–6 millimetres (5/32–1/4 in) wide. The achenes are winged with no hairs and have 0.8–1.5-millimetre (0.031–0.059-inch) long beaks that are curved or recurved.
Cultivation:
Succeeds in ordinary garden soil but prefers a rich sandy loam and full sun. Succeeds in full sun or part shade. Plants succeed in maritime gardens. Hardy to about -20°c. Plants seem to be immune to the predations of rabbits. A greedy plant, inhibiting the growth of nearby plants, especially legumes. A very ornamental and highly polymorphic plant. There are a large number of sub-species.
Edible Uses:
Leaves are eaten raw or cooked. The leaves , together with other salad greens and oil, were beaten to a creamy consistency and frozen into an ‘ice cream’.Some caution is advised, see the notes above on toxicity. Root – raw. The upper root ends have been used for food. Some caution is advised, see the notes below on toxicity.
Medicinal Uses:
The plant has been used as an antihaemorrhagic.
Known 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.
Disclaimer : The information presented herein is intended for educational purposes only. Individual results may vary, and before using any supplement, it is always advisable to consult with your own health care provider.
Resources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anemone_narcissiflora
https://pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Anemone+narcissiflora
