The New Student's Reference Work/Anemone

Anemone (ȧ-něm' ŏ-nē), called also the wind-flower, is one of the most beautiful of our spring flowers. It grows wild in woodlands and pastures. When growing in the shade, the colors are pink, rose color or purple; in the sun, they appear white or slightly flushed with rose color. The flowers of the wild anemone are single, but they can be doubled by cultivation. At the approach of night or of rain they curl up and go to sleep. The plant is well fitted to be an early spring blossom, for its slender stem bends but does not break in strong blasts. Poetry and myth give many stories of this flower. The Greeks said Anemos, the Wind, sent forth the starry blossoms as heralds of spring. It was believed that only the wind could open the flower—

         "The coy Anemone, that ne'er uncloses
          Her lips, until they 're blown on by the wind."

It is called Windröschen (little wind-rose) by the Germans. It is widely distributed in Asia, prized by the Chinese, a great favorite in Europe, Canada and the United States.