The Ancient Greeks believed that the wood anemone was a gift from the wind god, Anemos, sent to herald his coming in the spring. Drifts of exquisite nodding, star-like white 'windflowers' carpet deciduous woodland as soon as the weather warms up in March. You can also see them growing besides streams and in grassland and hedge banks besides the canal. The thin, flexible, reddish stems grow from creeping rootstock and each bears a single white flower, often tinged with pink on the back. Six or seven 'petals' (they are actually sepals) surround a rosette of yellow anthers. A natural barometer, as night approaches or just before a shower, the dampness in the air causes the sepals to close and the flower head droops. Folklore has it that this is done by fairies who curl up in the heart of the flower of 'thimbleweed' for protection, having first pulled the curtains around themselves!
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