Wood anemones (Anemone quinquefolia) are low-growing delicate perennial herbaceous plants with three leaves arranged in a whorl below a solitary five-petaled white or pinkish flower. The leaves are actually divided into three parts, but with the deeply lobed lateral leaflets, it often appears as though there are five distinct leaflets. In fact, the appearance of five separate leaflets is sometimes so pronounced that when Carl Linnaeus named Anemone quinquefolia in 1753, he described the plant as having leaves with five serrated parts – the species name quinquefolia means “five-leaved”.

Wood anemones often grow in colonies, appearing as thick mats, due to their growth habitat of spreading via rhizomes. They are most often found in forests with rich, moist soil. Wood anemones belong to a group of wildflowers called spring ephemerals. The name refers to the short-term nature of these spring blooming plants. This spring ephemeral strategy is adopted by many woodland plants that take advantage of the additional sunlight by blooming before the trees have leafed out. Other species, which can tolerate partial or complete shade, tend to flower later. By mid-summer, wood anemones die back down to their root-like rhizomes, with little to no aerial parts remaining.