''Anemonoides oregana'' (commonly called ''Anemone oregana'') is a species of flowering plant in the

buttercup ''Ranunculus'' is a large genus of about 1750 species of flowering plants in the family Ranunculaceae. Members of the genus are known as buttercups, spearworts and water crowfoots. The genus is distributed worldwide, primarily in temperate an ...

family known by the common names blue windflower, Oregon anemone, and western wood anemone. It is native to the forests of Washington, Oregon, and northern California in western North America, generally below elevation.

Taxonomy

The Oregon anemone was first formally named by

Asa Gray Asa Gray (November 18, 1810 – January 30, 1888) is considered the most important American botany, botanist of the 19th century. His ''Darwiniana'' (1876) was considered an important explanation of how religion and science were not necessaril ...

in 1887. It has sometimes been treated as a subspecies or variety of '' A. nemorosa'' or '' A. quinquefolia''. Two varieties are sometimes accepted: * ''A. oregana'' var. ''oregana'' is found from

Chelan County, Washington Chelan County (, ) is a List of counties in Washington, county in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, its population was 79,074. The county seat and largest city is Wenatchee, Was ...

south to California and less commonly west of the

Cascade Range The Cascade Range or Cascades is a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southern British Columbia through Washington (state), Washington and Oregon to Northern California. It includes both non-volcanic mountains, such as m ...

. * ''A. oregana'' var. ''felix'' is a generally smaller variety limited to coastal wetlands of

Grays Harbor County, Washington Grays Harbor County is a county in the U.S. state of Washington. As of the 2020 census, the population was 75,636. Its county seat is Montesano, and its largest city is Aberdeen. Grays Harbor County is included in the Aberdeen Micropolitan ...

, and

Lincoln County, Oregon Lincoln County is one of the 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 census, its population was 50,395. The county seat is Newport. The county is named for Abraham Lincoln, 16th president of the United States. Lincoln Coun ...

. ,

Kew Kew () is a district in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. Its population at the 2011 census was 11,436. Kew is the location of the Royal Botanic Gardens ("Kew Gardens"), now a World Heritage Site, which includes Kew Palace. Kew is ...

Plants of the World Online Plants of the World Online (POWO) is an online taxonomic database published by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. History Following the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew launched Plants of the World Online i ...

accepts no infraspecific taxa of ''Anemonoides oregana''.

Description

''Anemone oregana'' is a perennial herb growing from a thick

rhizome In botany and dendrology, a rhizome ( ) is a modified subterranean plant stem that sends out roots and Shoot (botany), shoots from its Node (botany), nodes. Rhizomes are also called creeping rootstalks or just rootstalks. Rhizomes develop from ...

, generally high, but exceptionally to . A single basal leaf made up of three large leaflets on a

petiole Petiole may refer to: *Petiole (botany), the stalk of a leaf, attaching the blade to the stem *Petiole (insect anatomy) In entomology, petiole is the technical term for the narrow waist of some hymenopteran insects, especially ants, bees, and ...

may be present. The

inflorescence In botany, an inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a plant's Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a system of branches. An inflorescence is categorized on the basis of the arrangement of flowers on a mai ...

consists of a single tier of three leaflike bracts and a single flower. The bracts are similar to the basal leaf when the latter is present. The terminal leaflet may have a petiole or may be sessile. Its margin is sharply toothed on the distal half or third and its tip is pointed. Lateral leaflets may have a single lobe. The flower has no petals but 5 to 7 petal-like

sepal A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 Etymology The term ''sepalum'' ...

s in any of several colors, usually blue or purple but sometimes reddish, pink, white, or bicolored. In the center of the flower are up to 75 thin

stamen The stamen (: stamina or stamens) is a part consisting of the male reproductive organs of a flower. Collectively, the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filament ...

s. The fruit is a cluster of

achene An achene (; ), also sometimes called akene and occasionally achenium or achenocarp, is a type of simple fruit, simple dry fruits, dry fruit produced by many species of flowering plants. Achenes are monocarpellate (formed from one carpel) and Dehi ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from1=Q98179284, from2=Q4115560 oregana Flora of California Flora of Oregon Flora of Washington (state) Plants described in 1887 Flora without expected TNC conservation status