Irkutsk Anemone

Rhizome prostrate, stolonlike, ca. 2 mm in diam., also oblique, nodulose, short, 5--8 mm in diam. Scalelike leaves 2 or 3, 4--6 mm. Leaf solitary; petiole 4--8 cm, subglabrous; leaf blade ternate, 2.5--4 × 3--6 cm, glabrous; petiolules 5--10(--20) mm; central leaflet 3-lobed, subcordate-pentagonal, base cuneate, margin crenate to denticulate, apex acuminate or obtuse, segments sessile, 3-lobed; lateral leaflets similar to central one but 2-lobed or 2-cleft, slightly oblique, ultimate lobules obtuse. Scape 10--20(--30) cm, subglabrous; cyme 1-flowered. Involucral bract petiole flat, 10--20(--30) × 3--5 mm, winged, sparsely puberulent or subglabrous; bract blade ternate, larger than that of leaves, 3--6 × 4--8 cm, puberulent; petiolules 5--10(--20) mm; central segment 3-lobed, narrowly rhombic to elliptic, base cuneate, margin irregularly dentate or serrate, apex acuminate; lateral segments oblique, smaller than central one, ultimate lobules obtuse. Pedicel 3--5 cm, puberulent. Sepals 8--12, in 2 whorls, white, bluish, or reddish violet, oblong to narrowly elliptic, glabrous, base and apex rounded; outer whorl 20--25 × 5--8 (--12) mm, basal veins 5--9, vein anastomoses 3--5; inner whorl 10--12 × 3--4 mm, without vein anastomoses. Stamens 4--8 mm; filament filiform, apex slightly dilated; anther ellipsoid, connective narrow. Ovary narrowly ovoid, ca. 1.5 mm, densely puberulent, base narrowed; style straight, conic, short, thickened; stigma subcapitate. Achene body ovoid to ellipsoid, 3.5--5 × 1.5--2 mm, narrowly ribbed, puberulent (hairs ca. 0.2 mm), base narrowed; style curved to recurved, conic, 1--2 mm, base puberulent. Fl. Mar--May.

W Henan, NW Hubei, S Shanxi, N Xinjiang [Russia; SE Europe (Romania)].

Forests, scrub, streamsides; 1200--1800 m.

Anemone nemorosa Linnaeus subsp. altaica (Fischer ex C. A. Meyer) Korshinsky; Anemonoides altaica (Fischer ex C. A. Meyer) Holub.