| Where the garden meets the wild | ||
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ANEMONE ACUTILOBA Ranunculaceae (Buttercup family) |
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Anemone acutiloba. Photograph © Jennifer Anderson |
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Photograph © Paige Woodward
Photograph © Thomas G. Barnes
Photograph © T. McDowell |
Anemone acutiloba (de
Candolle) G. Lawson. Syn. Hepatica nobilis var.
acuta (Pursh) Steyermark. Sharp-lobed hepatica;
Liverleaf. Also sometimes called Hepatica acutiloba. In
February, when you can still see your breath, out of the litter in the woods rise the flowers of
hepatica ~
mauve, purple, blue, pink or (most often) white with a tinge. Each flower
has 6-10 sepals. At first only the old leaves that fed the plant through
winter are present. Then fresh leaves unfurl ~ dark green, mottled,
leathery, hairy underneath, and always
three-lobed like the human liver (hepar in ancient Greek). Through
the Doctrine of Signatures, people used to think that a plant with a liver-shaped leaf
could cure liver problems. The flowers may last from February till May or
even beyond. This garden treasure is native to damp, dappled, deciduous woods in much of
E North America.
It often grows on calcareous soil, but does not require that. Height 10-30 cm (4-12"). Zone 4.
Clump (bare-root). In Canada, C$6.00; elsewhere US$5.50. |
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| This page was updated Sept. 4, 2006 | ||
