Anemonastrum polyanthes (D. Don) Holub (syn: Anemone abdurrehmanii R. A. Qureshi & M. N. Chaudhri; Anemone govaniana Lindl. (ambiguous synonym); Anemone longiscapa Wall.; Anemone narcissiflora var. polyanthes (D. Don) Finet & Gagnep.; Anemone polyanthes D. Don; Anemone scaposa Edgew.; Anemone villosa Royle);   
Jammu & Kashmir (Kashmir), India (Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh), Sikkim,
Pakistan (Chitral, Dir, Swat, Hazara), Pakistani Kashmir (Nanga Parbat), Nepal,
Bhutan
as per Catalogue of Life;
Common name: Many Flowered Anemone
 


 

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Does appear to be Anemone polyanthes, which is a shorter plant than A. tetrasepala, but I can’t bet on it.


I do consider this comes within A.polyanthes NOT A.tetrasepala. The two postings of A.tetrasepala from VoF are misidentified –
they are also A.polyanthes.
A.tetrasepala has not been recorded from Uttarakhand.


 

 

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Anemone tetrasepala from the way to Hemkund Sahib
Alti 3700-3800 mts


I think Anemone polyanthes, as leaves are clearly densely hairy above and umbels simple.


… is correct, these images are of Anemone polyanthes and NOT A.tetrasepala, which has not been recorded from
Uttarakhand. The postings of A.tetrasepala from VoF area are misidentifications – they are also A.polyanthes


 

 

VoF Week :: DV :: 03 AUG 12 – 0129 :: Anemone polyanthes along Hemakund – Ghangaria trail:    Anemone polyanthes D.Don … (family: Ranunculaceae)

3 AUG 12
Hemakund – Ghangaria trail about 13100 ft 


Nice one. I was told by one of the locals that this time flowers are seen mostly in white, earlier these flowers were seen in some what pinkish colour.


I think these do come within Anemone polyanthes. Please note that this species (and A.tetrasepala) are typically white in Kashmir and H.P.

but A.polyanthes has red and even mauve forms (a red one is illustrated in ‘Flowers of the Himalaya’). A.tetrasepala is not recorded from Uttarakhand.


Anemone polyanthes D.Don
at Hemkund Sahib on August 3, 2012  


Nice upload


VoF Week : MN-29.8.2012 Anemone tetrasepala:  Image scan not be seen now.

Anemone tetrasepala

Shri Hemkund Sahib

15.08.2012


I thought Anemone polyanthes


… is correct. These images seem to be of A.polyanthes not A.tetrasepala (which is not recorded from Uttarakhand).


 

 

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Anemone photographed below Tungnath in Uttarakhand. The flowers look like A. tetrasepala but are borne singly on a shorter stalk. Pl. help in ID.


Just a guess. Can it be a white variety of A.obtusiloba?


efi page on Anemone obtusiloba 


May be Anemone polyanthes. The third picture show an undeveloped flower, probably other flowers are yet to start flowering.


Thanks … for possible ID. Yes the plant looks very different with silky leaves and stems


It looks me Anemone polyanthes


Yes, these seem to come within Anemone polyanthesNot A.tetrasepala, which is not recorded from Uttarakhand. Nor does it match A.obtusiloba.


 
17062013GS1 Anemone for ID from below Tungnath in Uttarakhand : Attachments (3). 3 posts by 2 authors.
Anemone photographed below Tungnath in Uttarakhand.
The flowers look like A. tetrasepala but are borne singly on a shorter stalk. Pl. help in ID.


efi page on Anemone tetrasepala


As indicated already, these appears to be Anemone polyanthes not A.tetrasepala which has not been recorded from Uttarakhand.


 

I have just come across a letter from the late Mary Briggs past Secretary of what is now the Botanical Society of Britain & Ireland.
I met Mary on her frequent visits to the main herbarium of the Natural History Museum in London. She had undertaken a couple of treks in Kashmir and was interested in plants from the region (and many others parts of the world having led and incredible number of botanical tours for plant enthusiasts).  Arthur Chater (joint author of ‘An Enumeration of the Flowering Plants of Nepal’) kindly introduced us. The letter represented comments after she had read my ‘Report on the Kashmir Botanical Expedition, 1983’.
I listed both Anemone polyanthes and A.tetrasepala from Kashmir but wonder now if A.polyanthes is not necessarily found in Kashmir? 
Mary noted that what she had called Anemone narcissiflora might be A.polyanthes. Stewart listed A.narcissiflora having been reported from Chitral and Kashmir but thought these were A.polyanthes though felt further study was needed.
I first saw what I took to be A.polyanthes on the top of the Rohtang Pass in H.P. whilst leading a botanical tour (my party was en route to Lahaul). Years later, I came across an Anemone on a lower pass in H.P. which I thought looked like A.tetrasepala.
I also saw an Anemone below the Sinthan Pass which seemed more like what I understood to be A.tetrasepala.
I am not certain as to how to separate all the specimens of A.tetrasepala and A.polyanthes I come across.
A.tetrasepala is recorded from Afghanistan to Himachal Pradesh, whereas A.polyanthes is known from Pakistan to Bhutan.
Will be worth me checking postings for Anemone on eFI.


Further to my recent posting on this topic, I have checked through the Anemone postings on eFI and found there has been considerable confusion about these two species – and some others.
I found that images posted as A.tetrasepala were in fact what I understand to be A.polyanthes.
A.tetrasepala has not been recorded from Uttarakhand.
I think it will be worthwhile if I post what images I have available of what I understand to be A.polyanthes and what I consider to be A.tetrasepala.
Nevertheless, I find some specimens difficult to tell apart and about the distribution of A.polyanthes in Kashmir.
There is a photo in ‘Flowers of the Himalaya’ (No. 51 Plate 6) taken in Kashmir which I am uncertain about.
Further study may be required.
Collet in ‘Flora Simlensis’ includes Anemone polyanthes from Huttoo but I did not notice this species during my, albeit brief visits. Would not be a surprise if it no longer found there. Members of this group have visited and may have recorded or photographed this plant there?
I shall attach the images in another post – need to check the various places I MIGHT have images.


 

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This high altitude herb was recorded from near Hemkunt Sahib, Uttrakhand…
Anemone tetrasepala ..please correct me if otherwise..


I do NOT consider this to be Anemone tetrasepala but Anemone polyanthes. The latter is recorded from Uttarakhand but A.tetrasepala is NOT.
Most of the images from VoF and Uttarakhand that I see claiming to be A.tetrasepala, are in fact, Anemone polyanthes.
Please, on future occasions, take many more photos per species you come across. Include both upper and lower surfaces of flowers, stem leaves and basal leaves, habit & habitat.

 

Fwd: Anemone polyanthes in H.P. : 1 post by 1 author. Attachments (2)
Here with a couple of images of what I currently understand to be Anemone ployanthes taken by the Late Krishan Lal in July 2014 at some 4000m on the Chansil Pass in H.P.

 

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Anemone tetrasepala ABAUG2017/15 : 11 posts by 2 authors. Attachments (4)
I am slowly editing the photographs from my Indrahar trek and sharing them. This one was just above Lahaish Cave. Please advise if I am mistaken.
Anemone tetrasepala

Towards Indrahar Pass, Dharamshala, HP
3600m approx.
28-29 July 2017


Pl. check with images & discussions at Anemone polyanthes
I think it should be this species.

This is also as per keys at Flora of Pakistan

I have also requested … to make corrections at foi site

Thank you … for pointing me to this. The difference between the two is not very pronounced and I am not entirely sure from the FOP keys that my sample is not A. tetrasepala. I will report on this in a couple of days.


Thanks, …
Leaves glabrous (or becoming glabrescent) on upper surface (which is not the case in your post). Umbels nearly always compound.
Pl. see images with compound umbel at Anemone tetrasepala

Thanks for the minute scrutiny of this species. From what I can see in our images (of the specimens photographed from Valley of Flowers, the upper surface is hairless, or towards becoming hairless. I am attaching some cropped images.

The umbles are not compound, at least of the specimens we photographed. But I believe there is variation in that aspect. Anemone tetrasepala does show simple umbels too, and that may not be a good criterion to rule it out.
Attachments (3)

I feel leaves posted by … are quite hairy on the upper surface.
Also I read in discussions at efi page on Anemone polyanthes (pl. go through all discussions to have a deeper feeling), that range of Anemone tetrasepala is from Pakistan to Himachal.
Thus according to me nothing goes in favour of Anemone tetrasepala

I have been looking at the FOP keys and my images closely and feel that the plants here might be A. polyanthes as you suggested. I have looked at two characteristics which separate the two:
1. Sepals hairy on the outside in A. polyanthes, glabrous in A. tetrasepala.
2. FOP mentions sulcate scape in A. polyanthes but not in A. tetrasepala.
Apart from that the non-compound umbels and hairy upper surfaces of leaves fit with A. polyanthes. Also our plants are low. I have tried to show these in the crops of my photos. Hopefully it’s evidence enough till better understanding.
(The name tetrasepala fits better to our plants though with several flowers bearing four petals and while polyanthes should mean ‘many flowers’ it is tetrasepala which has compound umbels and more flowers. I hope that the description hasn’t confused the two in much of the literature.)
Attachments (8)

Thanks, …, for the wonderful analysis.

Thank you once again. I hope to revisit this plant some day and have a better understanding. 


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in gadhwal himalayas near gangotri- June’09?;  at gangotri – indiantreepix | Google Groups


  
Anemonidium tetrasepalum in FOI : 1 post by 1 author.
Images of Anemonidium tetrasepalum in FOI are of Anemonastrum polyanthes (D. Don) Holub (Syn: Anemone polyanthes D. Don) and not of Anemonastrum tetrasepalum (Royle) Holub (syn: Anemone tetrasepala Royle) as per images, details and references herein.
Pl. see Keys in Flora of Pakistan as well as distribution.
Pl. correct.

 

Anemonidium polyanthes in FOI : 2 posts by 1 author.

Images of Anemonidium polyanthes in FOI (syn. Anemone polyanthes) (I could not find the name Anemonidium polyanthes in either The Plant List or in the Catalogue of Life) looks different from Anemonastrum polyanthes (D. Don) Holub (Syn: Anemone polyanthes D. Don) as per images, details and references herein.
Pl. correct.


Corrected now. 


References: