Anemone patens -- (Pasque Flower)
 |
The familiar prairie crocus (Anemone patens) is a member of the buttercup family and should not be confused with the white, yellow and mauve crocuses we plant with our fall bulbs. These horticultural crocuses are also the source of saffron, one of the world's most expensive spices. The stigmas of approximately 150 crocuses must be harvested to obtain a single gram of saffron. Because they are usually found only on sites where the original sod has never been broken, prairie crocuses are becoming more and more rare with each passing year. If you would like to grow a clump of crocuses in your perennial garden, it is important that you not attempt to transplant established plants from the wild. While transplanting them is not illegal, they seldom re-establish successfully, and it depletes the natural populations. |
