Anemone grayi
Blue windflower
(c) Kostas Zontanos, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Kostas Zontanos · licence
Family: Ranunculaceae · Type: Perennial · Native
Anemone grayi (Blue windflower) is a native California perennial in the Ranunculaceae family, recognized by . Key features: low stamen count, often blue flowers, flat elliptic fruits.
Blue windflower is a California native perennial found in the Klamath Ranges, northern Coast Ranges, San Francisco Bay Area, and northern Santa Cruz Mountains in moist shaded slopes and redwood forests at elevations of 100 to 900 meters. Flowering from February to June, this plant produces white or blue flowers with 5 to 6 sepals 7 to 15 millimeters long in solitary blooms. Growing with slender stems 10 to 30 centimeters tall, it emerges from a spreading rhizome with delicate ascending growth. Its distinctive leaves are sparse, with finely soft-hairy leaflets arranged in a diamond or ovate shape, featuring crenate or occasionally serrate margins. The plant produces a small elliptic fruit with a curved 1-millimeter beak, clustered in a nearly spherical aggregate.
Identification and appearance
Key characters: 6 sympatric species. Key features: low stamen count, often blue flowers, flat elliptic fruits
Habitat and range
Habitat: Moist shaded slopes, redwood and mixed-evergreen forests
Elevation: 100-900 m
California counties: Del Norte, San Mateo, Marin, El Dorado, Humboldt, Monterey, Sonoma, Santa Clara, Shasta, Mendocino, Santa Cruz, Trinity, Plumas
Outside California: southwestern Oregon
Bloom period
Anemone grayi blooms Feb-Jun.
How to tell it apart
vs Dimorphotheca: Anemone has separate sepals and a whorl of bracts below flower; Dimorphotheca has many ray flowers forming a daisy-like head.; vs Pulsatilla: Anemone has bracts well below the flower; Pulsatilla has bracts directly beneath the flower and silky-hairy foliage.; vs Ranunculus: Anemone has flat flowers without glossy nectaries and a bract whorl; Ranunculus has cup-shaped glossy petals with nectaries.; vs Papaver: Anemone has 5-10 sepals and a bract whorl below flower; Papaver has 4 crinkled petals and no bracts.; vs Romneya: Anemone has 5-10 sepals on a small herb; Romneya has 6 large white crinkled petals on a woody shrub.
Frequently asked questions
Is Anemone grayi native to California?
Yes. Anemone grayi is native to California (recorded as native).
When does Anemone grayi bloom?
Anemone grayi blooms Feb-Jun.
Where in California does Anemone grayi grow?
Anemone grayi occurs in Del Norte, San Mateo, Marin, El Dorado, Humboldt, Monterey, Sonoma, Santa Clara and other counties, at elevations of 100-900 m.
What plant family does Anemone grayi belong to?
Anemone grayi is in the Ranunculaceae family, genus Anemone.
What habitat does Anemone grayi grow in?
Anemone grayi grows in Moist shaded slopes, redwood and mixed-evergreen forests.
Related species
Other California species in the same genus, family, or bioregion.
Sources: Jepson eFlora · Index of California Plant Names · CalPhotos
Last updated 2026-09-30
Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Cal-IPC, and more.