These are herbaceous anemones that are much larger than the spring-flowering bulbs Anemone blanda and nemorosa, typically 50 to 80 cm high, some a little taller, some more spreading. All have lovely flowers, white, pale yellow, blue, red, often with a darker flush to the outside of the petals (strictly sepals). They include plants from woods and from alpine meadows, and originate all round the northern hemisphere.

Anemone drummondii is a western American species, with divided leaves and creamy white flowers, followed by heads of fluffy seeds.