It is native to moist meadows, thickets, streambanks, and lakeshores in North America, spreading rapidly by underground rhizomes.

[4] The Canada anemone has shoots with deeply divided and toothed basal leaves on 8–22 cm (3+1⁄4–8+3⁄4 inches) petioles.

[5] Flowers with about 5 white, petal-like sepals and 80-100 yellow stamens bloom from late spring to summer on stems above a cluster of leaves.

[6] As traditionally and broadly circumscribed, the genus Anemone has repeatedly been shown not to be monophyletic, with genera such as Clematis and Pulsatilla embedded within it.

[1][5] Anemonastrum canadense was used medically by North American Indigenous peoples as an astringent, as a styptic for wounds, sores, nosebleeds, and as an eyewash.