#tenpetal thimbleweed

[snototter]

A tenpetal thimbleweed (Anemone berlandieri) in Florida, USA

by Alex Roukis

[stopandlook]

Scientific Name: Anemone berlandieri Common Name(s): Tenpetal anemone, tenpetal thimbleweed Family: Ranunculaceae (buttercup) Life Cycle: Perennial Leaf Retention: Deciduous Habit: Forb USDA L48 Native Status: Native Location: Lucas, Texas Season(s): Winter

Lies! All lies!

First off, when a plant is named “tenpetal,” wouldn’t you expect its defining feature to be flowers with ten petals? But look at this thing. Count’em. Do you see ten? No, that number is highly variable between individuals and is not a reliable key for identifying this species.

Worse, those … aren’t even petals. No, they’re sepals. This plant doesn’t have any petals at all. (When a plant either lacks petals or when its petals and sepals are indistinguishable, the term “tepal” is used, but I’m not enough of an expert to know if it applies here.)

After the flower appears, the stem continues to grow so that the bract becomes sufficiently far down the stem to appear as leaves. Don’t be mistaken. The leaves for this plant grow only at its base.

This plant is a perennial that blooms in late winter and early spring, then goes dormant over summer and fall. White is most common, but the flowers’ colors can range from white to purple.

Two Anemone species, A. berlandieri and A. caroliniana, are found here in North Texas, and they can be difficult to tell apart at first glance. Using this side-by-side comparison, we can identify this as A. berlandieri by the hairs on the stem below the bract even without any basal leaves visible in this photo.

[crochetcetera]

DH and I did some much needed yard work yesterday but before he mowed everything down, I took stock of our pre-Spring wildflowers! I found some corn speedwell, woodsorrel, henbit, tenpetal thimbleweed (a new one for me!), and some hop clover. Before I got down on my hands and knees in the grass, all I had noticed was the henbit and hop clover. It's amazing what you can find when you slow down and really look! These tiny little pops of color hiding in the still not yet green grass were a big part of the inspiration for the Botanical Impressions Shawl, releasing later this week. Simplicity. Subtlety. Delicacy. Now it sounds like a dessert! 😆 #botanicalimpressionsshawl #patterncomingsoon https://www.instagram.com/p/B9wj4OzJH-n/?igshid=11epefebufn5p