Beadlet Anemone giving birth

It’s 49 years since I was on holiday in Tenby in Wales and sketched this Beadlet Anemone, Actinia equina.

I’m scouring rockpools again, here on Westray, and this time there’s one giving birth.

Beadlet Anemones can produce up to a hundred young which develop inside the adult and then escape through the mouth to become free-swimming. They have fully-formed tentacles and a foot to anchor themselves on a suitable rock.

I would have loved to see this as a child. I’m happy I can still enjoy it now.

Have you ever seen an anemone give birth?