Nomenclature

Species name:

Anemone Coronaria   L.

Author(s):

Carl von Linné
   Sweden, 1707-1778

Common name:

Crown anemone,
Poppy anemone

Maltese name:

Kahwiela

Plant Family:

Ranunculaceae   (Buttercup Family)

Name Derivation:

Anemone = An ancient Greek name from anemos, "wind". There was an old belief that certain ancient flowers of this genus will bloom only in wind. Anemone was the daughter of winds in Greek mythology. (Greek);

Coronaria = Coming from the word 'corona' which means a crown and possibly referring to the crown-shaped flower. Another meaning is garland. (Latin).

Synonyms:

Anemone alba, A. coccinea, A. cyanea, A. grassensis, A. messariensis, A. mouansii, A. nobilis, A. oenanthe, A. praestabilis, A. regina, A. rissoana. A. rosea, A. ventreana.

Plant Description

Life Cycle:

Annual

Habitat:

Cultivated fields or nearby waste places, frequently found at fields near valleys.

Sources in Malta:

examples include Wied id-dis (Gharghur), Mistra valley, Wied Qirda, Buskett.

Plant Height:

15-45cm

Flowering Time:

Jan-Mar

This is a delicate winter-flowering plant usually found in humid locations with rich soil, such as around fields near valleys. The plant have basal leaves and cauline leaves which are well distanced apart along the reddish-brown hairy stem, and each have a rather different form. The basal leaves have long stalks and each is divided into 3 distinct leaf segments which looks like individual leaflets. Each segment is further divided and subdivided into divergent lobes. The upper cauline leaves are few cm below the solitary flower and some distinguish them as bracts. They are found in a whorl of three sessile leaves that deeply cut into narrow lobes.

The terminal flowers are conspicuous since of their vivid colour and their large size - about 4-7cm in diameter. Like other examples of beautiful flowers in Malta, this plant was heavily picked to be sold at markets and flower-sellers and nowadays it has become rather rare. The corolla consists of 5 - 8 perianth petaloid segments with a deep violet colour. Some double forms have twice as much, but such flowers are rare. These free segments overlap and in many instances they are sub-erect forming a shape of a closed cup. They are roundish or broad ovate in shape and conspicuously veined.

The reproductive part is localised at the centre of the corolla and consists a spherical receptacle with diminutive dark violet achenes. The receptacle is encircled by rings of numerous stamens emerging curved up from its base. The stamens are dark violet-blue with swollen anthers.

At the fruiting stage, the perianth segments and stamens drop off leaving the receptacle with its numerous achenes having a persistent tiny style. These single-seeded achenes will fall off when ripe and each can give rise to an individual plant that germinates the following Autumn.

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