Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center


Home	About NPWRC	Our Science	Staff	Employment	Contacts	Common Questions	About the Site

Western Wetland Flora

Field Office Guide to Plant Species

American Globeflower
Trollius laxus Salisb.

JPG -- Species Photo JPG -- Distribution Map

Family: Butter-cup (Ranunculaceae)
Flowering: June-August
Field Marks: This species is readily recognized by its large solitary flower with large sepals and smaller petals and by its deeply palmately lobed leaves.
Habitat: Swamps, wet woods, along streams, wet meadows, particularly in the mountains.
Habit: Perennial herb with thick, fibrous roots.
Stems: Upright, slender, up to 1 1/2 feet tall, smooth.
Leaves: Alternate, palmately 5-lobed, up to 8 inches long and broad, the lobes coarsely toothed or partly divided again, smooth, the basal leaves on long stalks, the 1 or 2 cauline leaves on short stalks or sessile.
Flowers: Solitary, up to 2 1/2 inches across, showy, usually whitish or greenish yellow.
Sepals: Usually 5, free from each other, petal-like, white or greenish yellow, up to 1 inch long.
Petals: Usually 5, free from each other, up to 1/4 inch long, each with a basal gland.
Stamens: Numerous, usually longer than the petals.
Pistils: Numerous, each with a superior ovary.
Fruits: Follicles several, up to 1/2 inch long, containing many seeds.
Notes: This handsome species varies considerably in flower color. It sometimes is grown as an ornamental.

Previous Species -- Western Seepweed (Suaeda occidentalis)
Return to Species List -- Group 8
Next Species -- Small White Violet (Viola macloskeyi)

Accessibility FOIA Privacy Policies and Notices

U.S. Department of the Interior | U.S. Geological Survey
URL: http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/plants/florawe/species/8/trollaxu.htm
Page Contact Information: Webmaster
Page Last Modified: Saturday, 02-Feb-2013 06:28:42 EST
Menlo Park, CA [caww54]