Anemonoides trifolia (syn. Anemone trifolia), the three-leaved anemone, is a perennial herbaceous plant in the buttercup family (Ranunculaceae).[1]

Anemonoides trifolia
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Ranunculales
Family: Ranunculaceae
Genus: Anemonoides
Species:
A. trifolia
Binomial name
Anemonoides trifolia
(L.) Holub
Synonyms[1]
  • Anemonanthea trifolia (L.) Nieuwl.
  • Anemone nemorosa subsp. trifolia (L.) Ces.
  • Anemone trifolia L.
  • Anemone trifolia subsp. brevidentata Ubaldi & Puppi
  • Anemonoides trifolia subsp. brevidentata (Ubaldi & Puppi) Galasso, Banfi & Soldano

Description

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The plant has stems growing 10–30 cm tall and bear single, white (rarely pale pink or pale bluish) flowers two centimetres in diameter, with five to nine (most often six) elliptical tepals. The fruit is a cluster of 2 mm achenes. Its leaves are divided into three lanceolate leaflets and form a single whorl of three leaves per stem; the leaflets have a toothed but not lobed margin. The rhizome, found directly below the surface is whitish, and tends to form dense clonal colonies.[2][3][4] In subsp. albida, the achenes are pendulous.[3] The flowering period extends from April through June.

The species differs from Anemonoides nemorosa in its white or pale blue anthers (unlike the yellow anthers of A. nemorosa) and simple lanceolate leaflets lacking the deep lobing of A. nemorosa.[2]

Distribution

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Anemonoides trifolia is very similar to Anemonoides nemorosa, but has a more restricted range in southern and central Europe, from Portugal and Spain east to Hungary, and locally north to Finland, where one small population occurs.[5]

Habitat

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It occurs in hardwood forests and rocky sites up to 1860 metres of altitude.[2]

Subspecies

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The Portuguese and Spanish populations are distinguished as A. trifolia subsp. albida, with the remaining populations being A. trifolia subsp. trifolia.[5]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Anemonoides trifolia (L.) Holub". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 9 August 2020.
  2. ^ a b c Huxley, A. (1967). Mountain Flowers. Blandford Press, London.
  3. ^ a b The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening 1: 172.
  4. ^ Biodiversity in Galicia: Anemone trifolia subsp. albida Archived July 25, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ a b Flora Europaea: Anemone trifolia