Anemone berlandieri Pritzel, tenpetal anemone. Perennial herb, from a vertical tuber, ± taprooted below tuber, rosetted (often not appearing so), 1–stemmed, with ascending to erect, axillary inflorescences, in flower to 16 cm tall increasing to 42 cm long in fruit; shoot with only basal leaves, basal leaves 1—12, exposed leaves and axes ± villous to pilose aging somewhat hispid; tubers to 25 × 12 mm, solid.
Stem aboveground short and hidden by leaf bases at top of tuber.
Leaves helically alternate, 1(—2)– palmately compound, 3–foliolate or deeply 3–lobed but on well–watered and robust individuals occasionally twice 3–foliolate with subdivision of terminal leaflet (to 12 blade portions), to 120 mm long, petiolate, without stipules; petiole flattened and white at base and channeled above, to 75 mm long, green and purplish red, villous–hispid; blade rachis to 25 mm long, channeled, often purplish red; petiolule of primary leaflets to 30 mm long and channeled but small leaflets sometimes sessile; blade < petiole, ± ovate in outline, to 45 × 40 mm, of primary leaflets symmetric (terminal leaflet) and asymmetric (lateral leaflets), to 22 mm long, tapered at base, serrate–crenate or with shallow lobes on margins mostly above midpoint, of secondary leaflets lobes mostly oblanceolate with or without a tooth, with several veins radiating from base and principal veins somewhat raised on lower surface, sparsely pilose, lower surface often purple.
Inflorescence solitary axillary flowers appearing scapose, 1—several per plant but not from the lowermost basal leaves, bracteate, villous; peduncle cylindric, at anthesis mostly 70—150 mm long (including belowground portion) increasing 2× in fruit, tough, white belowground and purple aboveground and villous; involucre of 3 bracts (bractlets) subtending pedicel slightly overlapping at base, each bract deeply palmately 3–lobed from at or below midpoint, appearing sheathing, at anthesis 13—20 mm long increasing to 30 mm long and often spreading in fruit, bract (3)5–veined at base, narrowly wedge–shaped in outline, lower portion to 7 mm wide, lobes ascending and each often deeply 3–lobed, lobes and sublobes ± linear, to 1 mm wide with entire margins; ± appressed–villous with hairs to 1 mm long and lobes with hairs on both surfaces; pedicel cylindric, at anthesis 7—30+ mm long increasing greatly in fruit to 120+ mm, green, appressed–villous, pith aging hollow.
Flower bisexual, radial, (13—)23—30 mm across; receptacle elongate (torus) and at anthesis ellipsoid and short–hairy; lacking nectar; sepals in range 11—17, helically alternate in at least 2 series, spreading widely, narrowly oblong to linear–elliptic, 7—15+ × 2—3.8 mm, outer series generally wider, white to pale, light, and dark violet to violet–blue within each population, upper surface with darker pigment, entire, ± truncate or inconspicuously notched at tip, mostly 5–veined from base, upper surface appressed short–hairy, lower surface glabrous or with some hairs at base; petals absent; stamens 25—70 in several series, helically alternate, free; filaments unequal, (0.4—)1.5—4.5 mm long, pale yellow, glabrous; anthers basifixed, dithecal, 0.7—0.9 mm long, light yellow, longitudinally dehiscent, the longer stamens dehiscing first; pollen white; pistils mostly 200+, helically alternate, free; ovaries superior, elliptic in outline compressed front–to–back, 1—1.4 mm long, green, densely short–hairy with appressed hairs, 1–chambered with 1 ovule; style curved outward, 0.4—0.6 mm long, white aging red in fruit; stigma white, minutely papillate.
Fruits achenes, many, helically arranged, formed in an aggregate cylindric head, cylinder 20—40 × 6—8 mm, with 300+ helically alternate, hairy achenes sessile on slender torus, achenes becoming wind–dispersed when mature; fruit body vertically oriented, flat–round, ca. 2.5 × 2 mm, brown, with a tuft of 100+ soft hairs radiating from base, the hairs 3—4 mm long, flat side with shorter, scattered hairs, and along top having an appressed beak (style) also with soft hairs.
A. C. Gibson