Life form: Geophyte
Leaves: Rosette, dissected twice or more, dentate or serrate
Flowers: Light blue, pink, purple, red, violet, white
Flowering Period: January, February, March, April, December
Habitat: Batha, Phrygana, Shrub-steppes
Distribution: Mediterranean Woodlands and Shrublands, Semi-steppe shrublands, Shrub-steppes, Deserts and extreme deserts, Montane vegetation of Mt. Hermon
Chorotype: Mediterranean
Summer shedding: Ephemeral
Derivation of the botanical name:
Anemone, anemos (Greek), "wind". In Greek mythology, Anemone was the name of the daughter of the winds.
coronaria, corona (Latin), "crown"; coronaria, used for garlands, or pertaining for garlands.
- The standard author abbreviation L. is used to indicate Carl Linnaeus (1707 – 1778), a Swedish botanist, physician, and zoologist, the father of modern taxonomy.
Anemone coronaria is traditionally identified as the
`lily of the field'.
It is a widespread herbaceous perennial plant growing to 20-40 cm tall (rarely to 60 cm), with a basal rosette of a few leaves, the leaves with three leaflets, each leaflet deeply lobed.
The flowers are borne singly on a tall stem with a whorl of small leaves just below the flower; the flower is 3-8 cm diameter, with 5-8 red, white or blue petal-like sepals.
Recent research in Israel has shown that there is a genetic basis for this variation which explains for the dominance of a certain colour in a particular region. Around Jerusalem, for instance, the red shape is more frequent than the blue, while on the basalt slopes north the Sea of Galilee the hillside are speckled with the blue and white flowers.
The “Red Anemone Guild Flowers” comprises some of the species from six plant genera
(Anemone, Tulipa, Ranunculus, Adonis, Glacium and Papaver) that belong to three
phylogenetically distant families
(Ranunculaceae, Liliaceae and Papaveraceae).
Flowersof this guild are characterized by large, red bowl-shaped petals that surround a large
black mass containing the anthers and the female reproductive organs.
The flowers are insect-pollinated, and offer only pollen as food reward to visitors. The uniqueness of the
red anemone guild species is due to the rarity of large red floral displays among the
congeners of the guild members, as well as in the Mediterranean flora (Shmida 1981;
Dafni & Shmida 1989).
The pollination of the "Red Anemone Guild" is by Glaphyrid beetles
(Scarabaeoidea).
Three Sisters, an Israeli Fairy tale
Once upon a time, in a far country, there lived a handsome prince.
After years of dissipation and tumultuous bachelorhood the prince decided to take a woman in his life, and announced that he would give an evening of “Speed Dating”, free and open to the female audience.
Hundreds of women decided to try their luck, including
the Three Sisters: Anemone, Scarlet Crowfoot (Ranunculus) and Poppy.
On the appointed day the sisters (like most invited) stormed the nearby mall to get the most up to date garment and the most impressive accessories. The mall was full of women pushing and shopping to get an outfit. Within minutes the sisters had lost each other and only met again when they returned to their homes, each with the result of her shopping frenzy, all with the same red dress.
Trouble!? How could the Prince distinguish between the three?
After the tears, the blood returned to their faces, and they found a solution: each of them would add a rather unique accessory to her red dress.
Anemone added a white scarf she brought from her travels in India.
Scarlet Crowfoot, the trendy, added a green belt, decorated her dress with glitters and put on glossy lipstick.
Poppy wore a black beaded necklace around her neck.
With the upgraded performance they entered the hall and seized the prince's heart within minutes. He spent an entire day with every one of them, and after three days he admitted he could not reach a decision. The three sisters were also captured by the prince’s charms, and each wanted him for herself.
Wow, and another solution was found: the Prince would marry the three of them, on condition that once a year, every year, he will dedicate a period of time with each one separately.
The Prince in love quickly agreed, and only asked the sisters to continue to wear their special accessories to avoid unnecessary confusion and shame. For the same reason he also decided to open a log book and to set dates for each sister, in alphabetical order –
Anemone, Scarlet Buttercup, Poppy. Since then, every year, Anemone is the first to bloom, with a white scarf around the stamens,
Scarlet crowfoot with the bright shiny leaves and the typically green sepals enclosing the petals in the form of a belt, is the second to appear and
Poppy finishes the cycle, with dark circles on the petals.
So now you can distinguish the difference between an anemone and poppy.
Bible resources:
- Matthew 6:28
And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin.
