Anemones

Anemones (Anemone coronaria L) are among the most beautiful flowers that adorn the nature of Crete. They are annual plants that can reach heights up to 45 cm and there is only one flower per person. Their name is taken after the wind (anemos in Greek) as the ancient Greeks believed that the wind made them bloom. The Cretans most of the time call them poppies, however poppies belong to the species Papaver rhoeas L. The anemones of Crete plants are poisonous but are very beautiful flowers.

The most common anemones that we meet in Crete are white or pink. But there also some rarer species, such as yellow and deep red anemones. Anemones like many other beautiful flowers have their own place in the Greek mythology; they were born from the blood of Adonis and Aphrodite, or according to a second version, they are the red tears of the goddess Demeter or her daughter Persephone.