| Photo Information |
Copyright: John Denk (jpdenk)
![Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 234 W: 1 N: 356]](http://i1.treknature.com/misc/g-n-g.gif) (965) |
| Genre: Plants |
| Medium: Color |
| Date Taken: 2008-05-03 |
| Categories: Flowers |
| Camera: Nikon D70, Nikkor 18-70mm |
| Exposure: f/10.0, 1/400 seconds |
| Details: Tripod: Yes |
| More Photo Info: [view] |
| Photo Version: Original Version |
| Date Submitted: 2008-05-04 10:34 |
| Viewed: 424 |
| Points: 6 |
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| [Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note |
The Carolina Anemone, Anemone caroliniana, an attractive little(7-9 cm tall) wildflower, hideously rare in the Chicago region. I'm not sure, but I think the little colony that I photographed is the last colony in this area. The whole colony was perhaps a meter across. It grows in sandy, dry soil along with large quantities of Plains Prickly Pear cactus, Opuntia macrorhiza. Unfortunately, these grow on private property that is mowed regularly.
Conditions for photography were horrible when I made this shot, so it's posted mainly due to its rarity, and is not a very good photo. It was very windy, almost all of my photos had blurriness due to the plant moving in the wind, and it began raining just as I found the plant, so I took several shots and had to leave. I hope to return in the next couple days to photograph it again, this time in good weather and with no time constraints.
According to the Illinois Wildflower site:
The preference is full or partial sun, dry conditions, and a gritty soil that is sandy, gravelly, or rocky. The rootstock may rot away in soil that is too moist and rich. Taller and more aggressive species of plants should be kept away. Vegetative growth and development occurs during the spring.
Range & Habitat: Carolina Anemone is an uncommon plant that occurs in scattered areas of northern and western Illinois. It is absent in southern Illinois. Habitats include dry upland areas of prairies, sand prairies, gravel prairies, hill prairies, barrens with scrubby trees or shrubs and scant ground vegetation, sandstone glades, thinly wooded bluffs, and roadside embankments. Cultivated forms of this species are occasionally grown in lawns, flower gardens, and cemeteries.
Faunal Associations: Information about floral-faunal relations is limited. The flowers probably attract bees and flies during the spring. The foliage is toxic and rarely eaten by mammalian herbivores.
Comments: Carolina Anemone produces flowers of exceptional beauty. These flowers are quite large considering the small size of the plant. Across its broad range (mainly in the southern United States), both the flowers and leaves are variable in appearance. The flowers occur in different pastel colors, different sizes, and vary in the number of petal-like sepals. The cleft lobes of the leaves can be quite narrow or rather broad. This showy species produces larger flowers with more petal-like sepals than any other Anemone spp. in Illinois. |
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