ANEMONE NEMOROSA

Part of the Ranunculaceae, or buttercup, family, the wood anemone is one of the very first flowers of spring, appearing from February until April. It is tolerant of many soil types, but Norsey’s coppiced woodland, regularly cleared, provides the light that stimulates growth each spring. It spreads very slowly, through underground rhizomes rather than seed, at an estimated 6ft (2m) per 100 years. A large colony usually indicates very ancient woodland. Thousands of single white stars, of between five and eight petals, with pale lavender undersides and a ring of bright yellow anthers, bob on tiny stems in the fresh breeze. This movement lends the anemone its folk name, windflower. It derives from a less romantic name, smell fox, from its musky-smelling, trifoliate leaves. The Chinese call it the flower of death, and not without reason. The wood anemone’s ghostly pallor reminds potential predators it is poisonous. It is avoided by all woodland creatures, with the exception of the hoverfly, which finds the nectar irresistible.