Anemone (an-em'o-ne)

A genus of the Ranunculaceae. A. hepatica. Liverwort, a species common throughout continental Europe. The leaves were formerly much employed in chronic disease of the thoracic and abdominal viscera. A. pratensis. Meadow a. The herb has a slight pungent odor and a burning, acrid taste, which it loses to a great extent upon drying. It contains anemonin, anemonol, and tannin. It is used for the same purposes as A. Pulsatilla. A. Pulsatilla. The herb was formerly official in the U. S. Ph., as Pulsatilla. It is said to be somewhat le acrid than A. pratensis, but it probably contains the same constituents. It is used in acute catarrhal affections. [Gr., anemone, the wind flower, from anemos, wind, because plants of this genus grew in windy places.]