False Rue Anemone

This herbaceous perennial plant is up to 1' tall, branching sparingly. It produces both basal and alternate compound leaves with a similar appearance. The stems are reddish green, hairless, and slender. The compound leaves are trifoliate and they have slender petioles. The terminal leaflet has a longer petiolule (basal stalklet) than the two lateral leaflets. These leaflets are up to 1" long and ¾" across. They are ternately lobed, cleft, and hairless. The white flowers occur individually or in groups of 2-3. Each flower spans about ¾" across, consisting of 5 petal-like sepals that are white, no petals, several slender stamens with yellow anthers, and a few green pistils in the center. The blooming period occurs during mid-spring and lasts about 3 weeks. Afterwards, the pistils are replaced by beaked follicles (seedpods that split open along one side) that individually contain several seeds. The root system is fibrous and occasionally small tubers are produced. Vegetative clones of the mother plant are often produced from these tubers; reproduction also occurs by the seeds. False Rue Anemone often forms dense colonies of plants.