Stats

Lifespan: Perennial
Size: Small
Diet: Photosynthetic
Biome: Temperate forest
Range: Europe
Movement: Sessile
Breeding: Seeds
Defense: Toxins
Status: Common

About

A delicate spring ephemeral that carpets European woodland floors with starry white blooms each April — the 'petals' are actually sepals, as the plant has no true petals at all. It spreads almost exclusively by creeping rhizomes, meaning a dense patch can be hundreds of years old.

Life cycle

1.
seed
A dormant seed waits for water and warmth before germinating.
2.
sprout
A first shoot emerges with cotyledon leaves and a tap root reaching down.
3.
sapling
A young plant grows true leaves and a stem or trunk, putting on height each season.
4.
mature
Fully grown, flowering or fruiting at adult size.

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Taxonomy

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Ranunculales
Family: Ranunculaceae
Genus: Anemonoides
Species: Anemonoides nemorosa