Anemone trifolia subsp. trifolia

Stem Height

Anemone trifolia subsp. trifolia is a herbaceous plant that produces stems 10–30 cm tall.

Flower Characteristics

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

Fruit Morphology

The fruit is a cluster of achenes, each 2 mm long.

Leaf Structure

This taxon has leaves divided into three lanceolate leaflets, arranged into a single whorl of three leaves per stem; leaflet margins are toothed, but not lobed.

Rhizome and Growth Form

Its whitish rhizome grows just below the soil surface, and it typically forms dense clonal colonies.

Flowering Period

Flowering occurs from April to June.

Distinction from Anemonoides nemorosa

The species can be distinguished from Anemonoides nemorosa by its white or pale blue anthers (compared to the yellow anthers of A. nemorosa) and its simple, unlobed lanceolate leaflets, which lack the deep lobing found in A. nemorosa.

Distinction from Subspecies albida

By contrast, the related subspecies A. trifolia subsp. albida has pendulous achenes.

General Distribution Context

As a species, Anemonoides trifolia is very similar to Anemonoides nemorosa, but has a more restricted distribution across southern and central Europe.

Detailed Range

Its range extends from Portugal and Spain eastward to Hungary, and reaches locally northward to Finland, where only one small population is known.

Habitat and Elevation

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