March 2019: The (European) wood anemone (or windflower, thimbleweed or smell fox) [Anemone nemorosa] (Buschwindröschen) is a typical herald of spring in my region. It belongs to the buttercup family Ranunculaceae. This year many of them were in bloom at spring equinox. The plant can develop quickly after winter: as soon as the ground is warming up the leaves start to grow and within a week or two the flower bud is visible and then opens soon. The whole life cycle of the plant takes place in spring most of it while the trees aren't leafed yet. The whole plant is poisonous! Its habitat streches from the Pyrenees to Russia, from Italy to Norway, but it seems that it isn't common in all other parts of the world.
