Though less than a foot tall, its white or light pink flowers make an effective display against the brown leaf litter during March and April. These delicate plants grow about 9 inches tall from pencil-like tuberous roots and form small colonies. The compound leaves arise from the root system on thin wiry petioles and are a light, glaucous gray, double or triply divided with the leaflets about the size of a dime with three terminal notches. The leaves have a somewhat rue-like in appearance but much more delicate than the rue of the herb garden. Because the showy parts of the flowers are sepals and not true petals, individual blossoms remain attractive for three weeks or longer, making them one of the longest blooming plants of the spring flora.
Plants continue to bloom for about two months.
Double-flowered white and pink forms are available from specialist growers and look like miniature tuberous begonias. Rue anemone, the only member of this genus, is a member of the Ranunculus family. It s widely distributed in the Eastern deciduous forest from East Texas to Minnesota and all points east. It usually appears on sloping ground or forest benches on north or east facing slopes. Learning to identify wild flowers, especially on the curvy roads of the Ozarks at 60 miles per hour, was one the first chores I undertook upon arrival in the state.