Trollius albiflorus

[Lori S.]

Trollius albiflorus (syn. Trollius laxus ssp. albiflorus) is a common plant of wet alpine meadows, blooming shortly after the snow recedes.  I find that the white ticking at the leaf-section junctions makes the plant readily identifiable amongst the other meadow foliage, after the bloom season.



http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?

Odd that e-Flora of North America claims it occurs in more-or-less acidic substrates, while it is also a common plant here in the front ranges of the northern Rockies, where extremely thick sections of limestone and dolomite form vast outcrop exposures and alkaline substrates.

http://linnet.geog.ubc.ca/Atlas/Atlas.aspx?sciname=Trollius%20albiflorusflora_id=1&taxon_id=233501317
http://plants.usda.gov/java/nameSearch?keywordquery=trollius+albiflorus&mode=sciname&submit.x=13&submit.y=11
http://www.swcoloradowildflowers.com/white%20enlarged%20photo%20pages/trollius%20albiflorus.htm

[Hoy]

You don't call this a globeflower, do you
It is a nice plant and I intend to plant some at my cabin in the mountains

[Lori S.]

You don't call this a globeflower, do you

As I'm sure you realize, Trond, globeflower is a common name for the genus.

[Hoy]

You don't call this a globeflower, do you

As I'm sure you realize, Trond, globeflower is a common name for the genus.

Yes, I know, but does this species have a common name?

[Lori S.]

"Globe-flower" - as there are no others to confuse it with here, this is generally sufficient - or "white globe-flower", as indicated in the links I posted.

[Hoy]

OK, I hoped it had a special name, as "globe"flower isn't very descriptive
The one found here is called "ballblom" (=ballflower) and is the common Trollius europaeus.
A picture from this site:

http://www.rolv.no/bilder/galleri/fjellplanter/trol_eur.htm

[Kelaidis]

Lori! I am ASTONISHED at how white your Trollius albiflorus is! The plant must have been named for one like your's: here in the southern Rockies they are a tepid, lemonade color. Nothing to write home about. And they are IMPOSSIBLE to grow for us...

But their eastern cousin (which is endangered in many states) is a great garden plant. The picture below is of Trollius laxus v. laxus in the Rock Alpine Garden at DBG this past spring. The color is just a tad yellower than our local "tepidflorus" form.

Thanks!

[Hoy]

Well, I like both forms! Even the one with "tepid, lemonade color". Wouldn't mind growing any of them!

[maggiepie]

I like them all too.
Had no idea you could get such small forms.

[Lori S.]

Interesting that there would be significant difference in the flower colour of T. albiflorus in the more southerly populations.  I haven't tried it in the garden, but should collect a little seed some time and give it a try.

Here is what I have as Trollius laxus, not near so yellow as the one you show either.  It's a really good garden plant here too, even in our relatively dry climate (though maybe not so different from yours re. precipitation(?), though it certainly gets a lot hotter there, Panayoti).
 

[RickR]

I never really thought about this before, until I notice how much Lori's photo of Trollius laxus looks like an anemone (at least to me):

Is there an easy way to differentiate between the two genera?

[Lori S.]

Here's a photo from the Alplains site of T. albiflorus.  Is this more how those in your area look, Panayoti, as compared to the chalk-white flowers that occur here?
http://www.alplains.com/images/TrolliusAlbi.jpg

Good question, Rick.  I had recently googled one or the other of these species and was mentally questioning the ID of one of the photos that came up, re. native North American Trollius versus Anemone.  
This key to Ranunculacaea at eFlora of North America is a lot more complicated than I can wrap my little mind around right now (although the answer is in there, of course):
http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=10757

Hmmm, a good little research project... unless some knowledgeable person out there can help us out by explaining in simpler terms?  Pretty please?  

[RickR]

Good question, Rick.  I had recently googled one or the other of these species and was mentally questioning the ID of one of the photos that came up, re. native North American Trollius versus Anemone.  
This key to Ranunculacaea at eFlora of North America is a lot more complicated than I can wrap my little mind around right now (although the answer is in there, of course):
http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=10757

Hmmm, a good little research project... unless some knowledgeable person out there can help us out by explaining in simpler terms?  Pretty please?  

Yes, if I could only tell if the fruit was an achene or utricle, as opposed to something else    
Yow! (and Help!)

[Lori S.]

Oooh, oooh, I know that one!! (Or rather to be honest, I didn't, until I thought for a while about what the seed structures look like for these genera and then looked up the terms!   )

Here are the "utricles"* (correction: "follicles", see following posts) of Trollius albiflorus in the background of this photo:


And here are the "achenes"** of Anemone lithophila:


*Utricle: "A small, thin-walled, one-seeded, more or less bladdery-inflated fruit.
**Achene: "A small, dry, indehiscent fruit with a single locule and a single seed (ovule), and with the seed attached to the ovary wall at a single point, as in the sunflower".
Both definitions are from Harris and Harris' Plant Identification Terminology: An Illustrated Glossary

But of course that only helps us when the seed structures are visible.  What about the rest of the time?

[McDonough]

I've gone through the Flora of North America key several times, and from what I can tell, only Trautvetteria has utricles (yes, I had to look up these terms too ), and only rarely do utricles occur in Ranunculus (typically has achenes).  Going through the "couplets" in the key, couplet #4 branches off to get to Trollius at #12: fruits are follicles, capsules, or berries, and to get to Anemone follows #5: fruits are achenes or utricles.  So I don't think Trollius has utricles, it has follicles (aggregated follicles), and Anemone has achenes (aggregated).  Seems that fruit structure is most definitely an important part of genus differentiation in the Ranunculus family.