Anemone trifolia L.

Nomenclature

This species is currently known by the scientific name Anemone trifolia L., and is also referred to as Anemonoides trifolia.

Stem Characteristics

The plant grows stems 10–30 cm tall.

Flower Appearance

Each stem bears a single flower, which is most commonly white, and rarely pale pink or pale bluish. Flowers measure 2 cm in diameter, with five to nine, most often six, elliptical tepals.

Fruit Characteristics

The fruit is a cluster of achenes that are 2 mm long. In the subspecies Anemone trifolia subsp. albida, the achenes are pendulous.

Leaf Structure

Its leaves are divided into three lanceolate leaflets, and form a single whorl of three leaves per stem; leaflets have a toothed, but not lobed, margin.

Rhizome Traits

The rhizome grows directly below the soil surface, is whitish, and typically forms dense clonal colonies.

Flowering Period

This species flowers from April through June.

Distinction from Related Species

It differs from Anemonoides nemorosa in having white or pale blue anthers, unlike the yellow anthers of A. nemorosa, and simple lanceolate leaflets that do not have the deep lobing seen in A. nemorosa.

Geographic Distribution

It has a more restricted range than the closely related Anemonoides nemorosa, occurring across southern and central Europe, ranging from Portugal and Spain east to Hungary, and reaching locally as far north as Finland, where only one small population is found.

Habitat and Altitude

It grows in hardwood forests and on rocky sites, at altitudes up to 1860 metres.