Anemonoides nemorosa (syn. Anemone nemorosa), known as the wood anemone, is an early-spring flowering perennial plant in the buttercup family, Ranunculaceae. Native to Europe, it is also called windflower, European thimbleweed, and smells a little like a fox due to the musky scent of its leaves. This herbaceous plant typically grows 5 to 15 cm (2 to 6 inches) tall.
The wood anemone has compound basal leaves that are palmate or ternate, emerging from underground rhizomes, and it goes dormant by mid-summer. Blooming occurs from March to May in the British Isles, with solitary flowers held above the foliage on short stems. Each flower is about 2 cm (0.8 inches) in diameter, consists of six or seven tepals, and is usually white, though it can also be pink, lilac, or blue, often with a darker tint on the backs of the tepals.
