Trollius

{{Short description|Genus of flowering plants in the buttercup family Ranunculaceae}} {{Automatic taxobox | image = Trollius europaeus 020503.jpg | image_caption = ''Trollius europaeus'' | display_parents = 2 | taxon = Trollius | authority = L. |subdivision = About 30, including: ''Trollius acaulis'' ''Trollius altaicus'' ''Trollius asiaticus'' ''Trollius austrosibiricus'' ''Trollius chinensis'' ''Trollius dschungaricus'' ''Trollius europaeus'' ''Trollius farreri'' ''Trollius japonicus'' ''Trollius laxus'' ''Trollius ledebourii'' ''Trollius lilacinus'' ''Trollius paluster'' ''Trollius papaverus'' ''Trollius pumilus'' ''Trollius ranunculinus'' ''Trollius yunnanensis'' | synonyms = * ''Ranunculastrum'' Heist. ex Fabr. * ''Gaissenia'' Raf. * ''Hegemone'' Bunge ex Ledeb. }}

'''''Trollius''''' is a genus of about 30 species of flowering plants closely related to ''Ranunculus'', in the family Ranunculaceae. The common name of some species is '''globeflower'''<ref>{{PLANTS|id=TROLL|taxon=Trollius|accessdate=12 December 2015}}</ref> or '''globe flower'''. The generic name is derived from the Swiss-German word "Trollblume", meaning a rounded flower.<ref>Gledhill D. 1985. ''The Names of Plants''. Cambridge University Press. {{ISBN|0521366755}}</ref> Native to the cool temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere, with the greatest diversity of species in Asia, species of the genus ''Trollius'' usually grow in heavy, wet clay soils.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://novataxa.blogspot.com/2019/01/trollius-austrosibiricus.html|title=A New Species from South Siberia|date=30 January 2019 |publisher=Novataxa |accessdate=11 February 2019}}</ref>

==Description== Species of the genus ''Trollius'' are mostly herbaceous, fibrous rooted perennials with bright yellow, orange or lilac coloured flowers. The name "globe flower" refers to the petals of ''T. europaeus'' and ''T.'' × ''cultorum'' which are curved over the top of the flower, forming a globe. But ''T. pumilus'' has flatter flowers, and ''T. chinensis'' has open flowers with prominent stamens.<ref name=RHSAZ>{{cite book|title=RHS A-Z Encyclopedia of Garden Plants|year=2008|publisher=Dorling Kindersley|location=United Kingdom|isbn=978-1405332965|pages=1136}}</ref>

==Ecology== All species of the genus ''Trollius'' are poisonous to cattle and other livestock when fresh, but their acrid taste means they are usually left uneaten. They are, however, used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including silver-ground carpet.

Research on ''Trollius europaeus'' indicates that its closed, globe-shaped flower form may have evolved as a defense mechanism against the over-exploitation by its seed-eating fly pollinators. These seed-eating fly pollinators, coming from the genus Chiastocheta, lay eggs within the flowers where their larve consume some of the developing seeds while adults facilitate pollination. This creates a specialized and stable mutualistic interaction.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Louca |first=Stilianos |last2=Ibanez |first2=Sébastien |last3=Piau |first3=Didier |last4=Després |first4=Laurence |date=2012-03-07 |title=Specialized nursery pollination mutualisms as evolutionary traps stabilized by antagonistic traits |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022519311005984 |journal=Journal of Theoretical Biology |volume=296 |pages=65–83 |doi=10.1016/j.jtbi.2011.11.028 |issn=0022-5193|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

==Cultivation== Some species of the genus ''Trollius'' are popular ornamental flowers in horticulture, with several cultivars selected for large and brightly coloured flowers. The hybrid ''T.'' × ''cultorum''<ref>{{cite web|title=Missouri Botanical Garden|url=http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/gardens-gardening/your-garden/plant-finder/plant-details/kc/b716/trollius-x-cultorum.aspx|accessdate=27 April 2013}}</ref> in particular is a source of several garden cultivars, including 'Superbus', which has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.<ref>{{cite web|title=RHS Plant Selector - ''Trollius'' × ''cultorum'' 'Superbus'|url=http://apps.rhs.org.uk/plantselector/plant?plantid=1952|accessdate=7 June 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/pdfs/agm-lists/agm-ornamentals.pdf | title = AGM Plants - Ornamental | date = July 2017 | page = 103 | publisher = Royal Horticultural Society | accessdate = 25 December 2018}}</ref>

==Image gallery== <gallery> Image:Globeflower Trollius laxus Flower 2400px.jpg|''Trollius laxus'' Image:Iceland_Plants_4898.JPG|''Trollius'' species Image:Жарки на юго-западе Бурятии.jpg|''Trollius'' in the south-west of Buryatia, Russia Image:Trollius asiaticus 03.jpg|Mountain Altai Image:Trollius asiaticus 01.jpg|Mountain Altai </gallery>

==References== {{Commons}} {{Reflist}}

Category:Trollius Category:Ranunculaceae genera