Pasque fl ower (Anemone patens)
is a perennial plant in the buttercup
family. Other common names include
wind fl ower and prairie crocus.
Every part of the plant is covered
with dense soft hairs, including the
fl owers, which range in color from
pale blue to violet.
Those fl owers measure about an
inch or two long and approximately
1½ inches across when open. Seeds
are arranged in a spherical shape,
and each seed is attached to a long
feathery plume. The seed head
closely resembles that of a clematis
plant.
Flowering can begin as early as late
March and continue as late as early
June, but peak bloom is typically
in April. Pasque fl owers are often
the fi rst plant to bloom in their
neighborhood, or at least the fi rst
plant to produce relatively large,
showy fl owers. Because of this, and
their overall attractiveness, they
are popular horticultural plants
and commonly used in gardens and
landscaping.
In the wild, pasque fl owers are
found in scattered locations around
Nebraska, but are most common in
the northern Panhandle. They are
also found here and there across
most of the northern tier of counties
and a few other isolated places
around the state. Pasque fl owers
usually grow in dry, often rocky soils
in prairies or open pine woodlands
and prefer full to partial sun.
Even at only 6-8 inches tall, these pasque flowers added
tremendous color and texture to the otherwise brown
hills during late April at The Nature Conservancy's
Niobrara Valley Preserve.