Balkan Anemone - Anemone blanda

Description

This plant grows to 15 cm tall and broad. It has daisy-like flowers The flowers are an intense shade of purple blue, but occasionally in shades of pink and white. The dark green foliage dies down in summer. The 'petals' of Anemones are really highly coloured, large sepals. The main leaves of this species are glabrous on the underside.

Similar Species

A apennina - several records exist for VC55 and it may be commoner than A blanda

Identification difficulty
ID guidance

Sepals and leaves glabrous on the underside; ripe achenes pendent

Recording advice

Photos of flower, or of seed-head showing achenes, plus good photo of leaf underside

Habitat

It grows in well-drained soil which dries out in summer. Rarely found far from habitation and rarely persisting although it has the potential to colonise any favourable location.

When to see it

Flowering April and May.

Life History

An herbaceous, tuberous perennial.

UK Status

Widespread but occasional in England and Wales as a casual escape from cultivation. 

VC55 Status

Rare in Leicestershire and Rutland as a casual escape from cultivation. It was not recorded in the 1979 Flora survey of Leicestershire, ans is not listed in the current VC55 Checklist (Jeeves 2011).

Leicestershire & Rutland Map

MAP KEY:

Yellow squares = NBN records (all known data)
Coloured circles = NatureSpot records: 2020+ | 2015-2019 | pre-2015

UK Map

Species profile

Common names
Balkan Anemone
Species group:
Wildflowers
Kingdom:
Plantae
Order:
Ranunculales
Family:
Ranunculaceae
Records on NatureSpot:
3
First record:
24/05/2015 (Calow, Graham)
Last record:
21/03/2021 (Nicholls, David)

Total records by month

% of records within its species group

10km squares with records

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