Candle Anemone
Anemone cylindrica
Candle Anemone (Anemone cylindrica) is a native perennial, 30 to 70 cm (12 to 28 inches) tall, with deeply cut, hairy leaves and small greenish white flowers on long, bare stalks that turn into cottony, candle-shaped seed heads. It blooms June into July on open prairies and pastures throughout South Dakota. Photographed in the Black Hills.
| Family | Ranunculaceae · Buttercup |
|---|---|
| Status | Native perennial |
| Blooms | June into July |
| Height | 30–70 cm (12–28 in) |
| Where | Open prairies, pastures, dry open woods and roadsides |
| Also called | Thimbleweed, Long-headed Thimbleweed, Long-fruited Thimbleweed, Long-headed Anemone |
| Toxicity | All parts are poisonous when fresh, though toxic only if eaten in large quantities, and fresh sap can blister skin. |
Roots, seeds & germination
Root: A stout caudex (woody root crown) that forms clumps.
Seed: About 200 achenes (single-seeded fruits) sit in each head, each with long cottony hairs that help it spread as the head loosens in fall and winter. Collect them when brown, July to September.
Germination: No pretreatment needed.
How do you identify Candle Anemone?
Look for small flowers, 1.5–2 cm across, with 4 to 6 white to greenish white sepals and no true petals, on long stalks above a whorl of leaves midway up the stem. The center lengthens into a cylinder 1.5–3.5 cm long and under ½ inch wide, which turns to white, cottony fluff and stays through winter. Tall Thimbleweed is taller, with cones usually under 1 inch and rounded, toothed leaflet lobes; this plant's leaflets are wedge-shaped with lobes that fan out.
When does it bloom?
June into July.
Where does it grow?
Open prairies and pastures throughout South Dakota, plus dry open woods and roadsides. It likes sandy soil, full sun to part shade. An SDSU Extension article shows a seed head photographed in the Black Hills National Forest.
Other flowers to compare
Sources: SDSU Open PRAIRIE: Anemone cylindrica; SDSU Extension: Native Plants to Know, Thimbleweed; Flora of North America: Anemone cylindrica; Minnesota Wildflowers: Anemone cylindrica; Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center: Anemone cylindrica.