Al Schneider's Rocky Mountains Plant Descriptions

Eastern Globeflower
Trollius laxus
Buttercup family (Ranunculaceae)

Globeflower blooms early in the season in seeps filled with water from melting snows. The common name refers to the shape of the flower. Like other members of the Buttercup Family, these plants contain sap that can irritate skin and be poisonous. White Marsh Marigold (Caltha leptosepala) grows in similar wet habitats but has undivided, heart-shaped leaves, its flowers have seven or eight petals versus five for Globeflower, the petals are significantly narrower, and the flower is shorter. Despite these differences, the two plants are easy to mix-up. "Troll" is Latin for "globe" and "" is Latin for "loose."


©2023 Robert Wernerehl

Description

, 4-16" tall, with clumped stems and saucer-shaped white-cream-yellow flowers. Flowers are single on stalks, 5-9 petal-like with numerous yellow arising from the middle. Outer lack and are flattened. Leaves are on long stalks that are divided into 5 deeply or 3- segments. are erect clusters of 10-20 (pods) with spreading tips and conspicuous veins.

Field Marks

Single white-cream petaled flower with center of numerous yellow .

© Al Schneider

stamen -- the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower; The stamen consists of an anther supported by a filament.

A perennial plant lives and blooms for many years.

A herb is a plant whose stems die back to the ground in the winter.

Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom.

Like the teeth on a saw, leaves and other surfaces can have toothed edges.

fruit -- any seed-bearing structure in flowering plants. It is formed from the ovary after flowering.

lax -- Loose, not compact.

The anther is a pad at the end of the stamen that holds the pollen.

palmate -- Consisting of leaflets or lobes radiating from the base of the leaf.

A follicle is a dry fruit that opens along one side to release seeds.

stalk -- The supporting structure of an organ. Examples of stalks are stem, peduncle, petiole, ...

alternate -- leaves alternate along the main stem and are attached singly.

lobe -- Being divided by clefts.