Thimbleweed

Anemone virginiana, commonly known as thimbleweed, tall anemone or tall thimbleweed, is an erect, deep-rooted perennial herb of the family Ranunculaceae, native to eastern and central North America, where it grows in dry open woods, prairie margins, rocky slopes and stream banks. The plant typically reaches 40–90 cm in height, with slender, hairy stems that are usually unbranched below the inflorescence. The long-petiolate basal leaves are deeply three- to five-parted into broadly lanceolate, sharply toothed segments, the divisions often again lobed; an involucre of similar but shorter-petiolate leaves is borne well below the inflorescence. The flowers are solitary on long peduncles arising above the involucre, 1.5–3 cm across, with five greenish-white to creamy petaloid sepals (true petals lacking) and numerous yellow stamens. As the achenes mature, the receptacle elongates and thickens into a distinctively cylindrical, thimble-shaped fruiting head 1.5–2.5 cm long, packed with densely woolly, wind-dispersed achenes. Flowering occurs from June to August.