''Anemonopsis'', the false anemone, is a

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispec ...

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Ranunculaceae Ranunculaceae (buttercup or crowfoot family; Latin "little frog", from "frog") is a family of over 2,000 known species of flowering plants in 43 genera, distributed worldwide. The largest genera are ''Ranunculus'' (600 species), ''Delphinium' ...

, containing only the species ''Anemonopsis macrophylla'',

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

to Japan's main island of

Honshu , historically called , is the largest and most populous island of Japan. It is located south of Hokkaidō across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyūshū across the Kanmon Straits. The island separ ...

. The generic name ''Anemonopsis'' refers to it being ''

Anemone ''Anemone'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the buttercup family Ranunculaceae. Plants of the genus are commonly called windflowers. They are native to the temperate and subtropical regions of all continents except Australia, New Zealand an ...

''-like ('), and its

specific epithet In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

''macrophylla'' means "large-leaved".

Description

''Anemonopsis'' is a

herbaceous perennial A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also widel ...

growing approximately 75 cm high, with pale lavender flowers in late summer, each about 2 cm in diameter. The flowers are bowl-shaped with a rosette of petals in the center, and are downward facing. The flowers are held well above the foliage; although not a small plant, the overall impression is one of daintiness and airiness. When in full bloom, the flowers resemble small lotuses, giving rise to its Japanese name of . The genus ''

Kirengeshoma ''Kirengeshoma'' is a genus containing two species of plants in the hydrangea family. Both are clump-forming perennials native to Eastern Asia, with sycamore-like palmate leaves and nodding, waxy yellow flowers on slender stalks, growing in shady ...

'' in turn is named after it. Native to Japan's colder

temperate In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (23.5° to 66.5° N/S of Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ranges throughout t ...

areas (southern Tōhoku to

Kinki The or the , lies in the southern-central region of Japan's main island Honshū. The region includes the prefectures of Nara, Wakayama, Kyoto, Osaka, Hyōgo and Shiga, often also Mie, sometimes Fukui, Tokushima and Tottori. The metropolitan ...

), ''Anemonopsis'' is frost-hardy at least to

zone Zone or The Zone may refer to: Places Climate and altitude zones * Death zone (originally the lethal zone), altitudes above a certain point where the amount of oxygen is insufficient to sustain human life for an extended time span * Frigid zone, ...

4. It is a true woodland plant and cannot tolerate full sun without the leaves scorching, except perhaps in very cool, damp climates. It must also be protected from drying winds.

Cultivation

Like many other

s from Japan, ''Anemonopsis'' demands summer moisture, but resents excessively wet conditions in winter. It is thus much more easily grown in

continental climate Continental climates often have a significant annual variation in temperature (warm summers and cold winters). They tend to occur in the middle latitudes (40 to 55 north), within large landmasses where prevailing winds blow overland bringing som ...

of the eastern United States and Canada than in the

Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate (also called a dry summer temperate climate ''Cs'') is a temperate climate sub-type, generally characterized by warm, dry summers and mild, fairly wet winters; these weather conditions are typically experienced in the ...

of the

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though ...

Propagation

''Anemonopsis'' is self-fertile, and an isolated plant will set modest amounts of seed. If sown in containers as soon as ripe and the seed containers exposed to winter chilling, germination will occur the next spring. Unlike some members of the

, which are notorious for their seeds remaining viable only for a very short time, ''Anemonopsis'' seed retains its viability in storage to a reasonable degree. However, fresh seed is preferable to stored seed. As with many other members of the

, seedlings of ''Anemonopsis'' form only

cotyledons A cotyledon (; ; ; , gen. (), ) is a significant part of the embryo within the seed of a plant, and is defined as "the embryonic leaf in seed-bearing plants, one or more of which are the first to appear from a germinating seed." The numb ...

in their first season; the first true leaves form the year after

germination Germination is the process by which an organism grows from a seed or spore. The term is applied to the sprouting of a seedling from a seed of an angiosperm or gymnosperm, the growth of a sporeling from a spore, such as the spores of fungi, fer ...

. Seedlings are slow to reach maturity, and flower in about 5 years. They may be more easily handled by growing in pots until they reach a size suitable for planting out. No particular treatment of seed is necessary other than exposure to ordinary winter chilling. ''Anemonopsis'' can also be propagated by division.

References

* * * *

External links

''Anemonopsis macrophylla''
photo

: Flavon's art gallery {{Taxonbar, from=Q15938586 Ranunculaceae Ranunculaceae genera Monotypic Ranunculales genera Flora of Japan Endemic flora of Japan