Aerial shoots (20-)30-70(-80) cm, from caudices, rarely with very short ascending rhizomes, caudices ascending to vertical. Basal leaves (2-)5-10(-13), ternate; petiole 9-21 cm; terminal leaflet sessile, broadly rhombic to oblanceolate, (2.5-)3-5(-6) × (3-)4-10(-14) cm, base narrowly cuneate, margins crenate, or serrate and deeply incised on distal 1/2, apex narrowly acute, surfaces strigose, more so abaxially; lateral leaflets 1-2×-parted and -lobed; ultimate lobes 4-10(-13) mm wide. Inflorescences (1-)2-8-flowered cymes, sometimes appearing umbellike; peduncle villous to densely villous; involucral bracts 3-7(-9), 2(-3)-tiered (can appear 1-tiered), ternate, ±similar to basal leaves, bases distinct; terminal leaflet sessile, rhombic to oblanceolate, 2.5-6.5 × (1-)1.5-2(-2.5) cm, bases narrowly cuneate, margins serrate and incised on distal 1/3-1/2, apex narrowly acute, surfaces puberulous, more so abaxially; lateral leaflets 1(-2)×-parted or -lobed; ultimate lobes (4-)6-10(-15) mm wide. Flowers: pedicel usually appearing bractless; sepals 4-5(-6), green to whitish, oblong to elliptic or ovate, 5-12(-15) × 3-6 mm, abaxially silky, adaxially glabrous; stamens 50-75. Heads of achenes cylindric; pedicel 10-30 cm. Achenes: body ovoid, (1.8-)2-3 × 1.5-2 mm, not winged, woolly; beak usually recurved, (0.3-)0.5-1 mm, hidden by achene indument, glabrous. 2 n =16. Flowering summer (Jun-Jul). Prairies, dry, open woods, pastures, roadsides; 300-3000 m; Alta., B.C., Man., Ont., Que., Sask.; Ariz., Colo., Conn., Idaho, Ill., Ind., Iowa, Kans., Maine, Mass., Mich., Minn., Mo., Mont., Nebr., N.H., N.J., N.Mex., N.Y., N.Dak., Ohio, Pa., R.I., S.Dak., Vt., Wis., Wyo. The cymes of Anemone cylindrica may appear 1-tiered because the second tier of involucres is closely nestled among the leaves of the first tier. The cymes then resemble umbels with unusually leafy involucral bracts; they might be misinterpreted as such. Anemone cylindrica was used medicinally by Native Americans for headaches, sore eyes, and bad burns, as a psychological aid, and as a relief for tuberculosis (D. E. Moerman 1986).
Plants 3-10 dm, from a short caudex; basal and involucral lvs similar, the former several, the latter 3-10 and commonly twice as many as the mostly naked peduncles, both types petiolate, broad, deeply 3-5-parted into basally narrow and cuneate segments that are again few-toothed or cleft above the middle; peduncles mostly 2-6, 1-3 dm; sep 5(6), greenish-white, 8-12 mm long; styles crimson in life; fruiting head dense, cylindric, 2-4.5 cm, scarcely 1 cm thick; achenes densely woolly, 2 mm, the style 0.5-1 mm, subglabrous, seldom strongly spreading; 2n=16. Dry, open woods and prairies; Me. to B.C., s. to N.J., O., Mo., and Ariz. June-Aug.
Gleason, Henry A. & Cronquist, Arthur J. 1991. Manual of vascular plants of northeastern United States and adjacent Canada. lxxv + 910 pp.
Duration: Perennial Nativity: Native Lifeform: Forb/Herb General: Perennial, 30-70 cm tall; stems erect, silky pubescent; arising from a caudex. Leaves: Basal, ternately compound, 3-5 cm long, 4-10 cm wide, the leaflets broadly rhombic to oblanceolate, surfaces strigose, usually more so below, margins crenate or serrate and deeply incised towards the apex, base wedge- shaped, apex acute; petiole 9-21 cm long. Flowers: Inflorescence a raceme, pyramidal-shaped, often as long as wide at time of flowering, 25 or more flowers; flowers radial, pedicellate, with 1-2 bractlets at the base of each pedicel; sepals 3-5, orbicular, 2-4.5 mm long, whitish green, not persisting in fruit; petals 4-10, spatulate to obovate, 2-4.5 mm long, cream-colored, apex acute to obtuse; stamens numerous; pistil 1, the stigma nearly sessile; flowers May-July. Fruits: Achene, the body ovoid, 2-3 mm long, woolly, numerous, arranged in a cylindric-shaped head, 2-4 cm long. Ecology: Streambanks, rich soils, open woods; 1700-2300 m (5500- 7500 ft); Apache, Coconino and Gila counties; south- central Canada, northeastern, north-central, and southwestern U.S. Notes: Anemone multifida (cut-leaf anemone) [=A. globosa] is distinguished by the narrow ultimate lobes of the involucral bracts (1.5-3 mm wide); sepals are 5, green to yellow, blue, purple, or red; and the achene body is tomentose, woolly, or villous, and arranged in a spheric head. Ours is var. multifida, and in Arizona it occurs only on the San Francisco Peaks (Coconino County). Editor: Springer et al. 2008