Wood anemone

About

Wood anemone is one of the first flowering plants of the deciduous forest. In Ukraine, it grows in the Carpathians and Polissia, occasionally in the Forest-Steppe. It thrives particularly well in moist, shady places, in depressions with loose, nutrient-rich soil, where it forms solid white carpets in spring. It blooms in April - May, while the trees have not yet unfurled their leaves and light reaches the ground.

The plant is 10–25 cm tall, with a long creeping underground rhizome. On the stem below the flower sits a ring of three palmate leaves. The flower is solitary, about 2 cm in diameter, white, often with a pinkish tint on the outside, with six to seven tepals. At night and before rain, the flowers close to prevent the pollen from getting wet.

The anemone is a slow-growing plant: it flowers only in the 10th to 12th year from seed and mostly spreads through rhizomes. If the above-ground part is picked in spring along with the leaves, the rhizome is left without a supply of nutrients and may die. Therefore, it is not worth picking it for bouquets: it can easily destroy a patch that has been growing for decades. Moreover, the plant contains poisonous substances.

A similar species, the yellow anemone, with yellow flowers, may grow nearby; sometimes these two species form mixed carpets. The common wood sorrel also has white flowers, but it can be easily distinguished by its trifoliate leaves, resembling clover. The Wood anemone is not listed in the Red Book of Ukraine, but its spring meadows are a decoration of the Carpathian beech forests.

Where in the Carpathians

The map shows where naturalists recorded the species (GBIF, CC0 and CC BY records), not every place it lives. The Ukrainian Carpathians are less studied, so a blank area does not mean the species is absent.

Countries

Slovakia · Czechia · Poland · Ukraine · Romania · Austria

Mountain ranges

Moravian-Silesian Beskids, Slovak Ore Mountains, Greater Fatra, Lesser Fatra, Vihorlat Mountains, Bieszczady, Volovec Mountains, Strážov Mountains, Żywiec Beskids, Maramureș Mountains

Altitude belts

Foothills (below 600 m) · Beech forests (600–1200 m)

When to see it

From naturalists’ observations in the Carpathians (iNaturalist, research grade): the darker the cell, the more often the species is seen that month.

Safety

The plant is poisonous. Do not taste or give to children.

Look-alikes — how to tell them apart

Protection and rules

Not protected. Do not pick for bouquets: the plant flowers only in the 10th to 12th year from seed.

FAQ