Flora of North America species comparison

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Anemone multifida

anémone multifide, cliff anemone, cut-leaf anemone, cut-leaf windflower, globe anemone, Pacific anemone
Aerial shoots

10-70 cm, from caudices, caudices ascending to vertical.
Basal leaves

3-6(-10), 1-2-ternate;

petiole (2-)4-10(-14) cm;

terminal leaflet petiolulate to ±sessile, broadly and irregularly rhombic to obovate, (1.5-)2.5-4.5(-5.5) × (1-)3-10 cm, base narrowly cuneate, margins incised on distal 1/3, apex broadly acute to nearly obtuse;

surfaces abaxially villous-silky, hispid to villous, or sparsely long-pilose, adaxially glabrous, nearly glabrous, villous-silky, or hispid to villous;

lateral leaflets (2-)3x-parted; ultimate segments (1.5-)2-3.5(-5) mm wide.
Inflorescences

2-7-flowered cymes or flowers solitary;

peduncle villous, pilose, or hispid to villous;

involucral bracts usually 3-5, occasionally 2 in secondary involucres, 1-2-tiered, ternate, occasionally incompletely ternate, ±similar to basal leaves, greatly reduced, bases distinct;

terminal leaflet petiolulate to ±sessile, broadly and irregularly rhombic to obovate, (1.5-)3-4(-5) × 0.5-1(-2) cm, base narrowly cuneate, margins incised on distal 1/3, apex broadly acute to nearly obtuse, surfaces abaxially hispid to villous, villous-silky, or sparsely long-pilose, adaxially glabrous, nearly glabrous, hispid to villous, or villous-silky;

lateral leaflets (2-)3x-parted or -lobed, lobes frequently unequal; ultimate lobes 1.5-3(-4.3) mm wide.
Flowers

sepals 5-9, green to yellow, blue, purple, red, or occasionally white, or abaxially blue, red, yellow and red, or purple, or tinged purple, adaxially white, yellow, yellow and red, blue, or tinged purple, ovate to oblong, 5-17 × (3.5-)5-7(-9) mm, abaxially hairy, adaxially glabrous;

stamens 50-80.
Achenes

body irregularly ellipsoid or elliptic, flat, 3-4 × 1.5-2 mm, not winged, tomentose, woolly, or villous;

beak ±straight, distally recurved or strongly hooked, 1-6 mm, glabrous.
Heads of achenes

spheric;

pedicel 6-15(-23) cm.

Anemone multifida
Distribution
from FNA
AK; AZ; CA; CO; ID; ME; MI; MN; MT; ND; NE; NM; NV; NY; OR; SD; UT; VT; WA; WI; WY; AB; BC; MB; NB; NF; NT; ON; QC; SK; YT; South America
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[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Varieties 4 (4 in the flora).

G.Boraiah and M.Heimburger (1964) conducted an extensive cytotaxonomic analysis of this wide-ranging and extremely variable species and its relatives. The present treatment takes a broader view of the species (and its variation) and recognizes fewer entities. In addition, Anemone tetonensis and A. stylosa, plants treated as closely related species by G.Boraiah and M.Heimburger, are treated here as varieties of A. multifida.

Early-season plants of Anemone multifida var. multifida have solitary flowers and will key to var. saxicola. Anemone multifida var. tetonensis and especially var. saxicola might be based on characteristics that are influenced primarily by environment; further study is warranted.

Native Americans used Anemone multifida (no varieties specified) medicinally as an antirheumatic, cold remedy, nosebleed cure, and general panacea, as well as a means of killing lice and fleas (D. E. Moerman 1986).

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Key
1. Flowers in cymes; involucral bracts 2-tiered.
→ 2
1. Flowers solitary; involucral bracts 1-tiered.
→ 5
2. Beak straight.
→ 3
2. Beak recurved or hooked.
→ 4
3. Aerial shoots (30–)40–70 cm; flowers (2–)5–7; bracts silky; sepals ovate or oblong.
var. multifida
3. Aerial shoots (10–)20–40 cm; flowers (1–)2–3; bracts villous; sepals elliptic.
var. saxicola
4. Beak recurved.
var. tetonensis
4. Beak hooked.
var. stylosa
5. Abaxial color of sepals different from adaxial color.
→ 6
5. Abaxial color of sepals same as adaxial color.
→ 7
6. Aerial shoots 20–40 cm; achene beak ± straight.
var. saxicola
6. Aerial shoots 10–20(–25) cm; achene beak recurved.
var. tetonensis
7. Sepals blue, purple, or sometimes white; achene beak recurved.
var. tetonensis
7. Sepals purple to red, or green to red; achene beak strongly hooked distally.
var. stylosa
Source FNA vol. 3.
Parent taxa Ranunculaceae > Anemone
Sibling taxa
A. acutiloba, A. americana, A. berlandieri, A. canadensis, A. caroliniana, A. cylindrica, A. deltoidea, A. drummondii, A. edwardsiana, A. grayi, A. lancifolia, A. lyallii, A. multiceps, A. narcissiflora, A. occidentalis, A. okennonii, A. oregana, A. parviflora, A. patens, A. piperi, A. quinquefolia, A. richardsonii, A. tuberosa, A. virginiana
Subordinate taxa
A. multifida var. multifida, A. multifida var. saxicola, A. multifida var. stylosa, A. multifida var. tetonensis
Name authority Poiret: in J. Lamarck et al., in J.Lamarck et al., Encycl., suppl. 1: 364. (1810)
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



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