Pulsatilla vulgaris (L.) Mill. - Plantlife

Pulsatilla is now generally accepted based on both morphology and chloroplast DNA (e.g.
Hantula et al., 1989). Morphologically Pulsatilla taxa are distinguished by the styles
elongating greatly and becoming feathery in fruit and the presence of nectar-secreting
staminodes (both absent in Anemone sensu stricto; Akeroyd, 1993). The current worldwide
classification scheme of the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group (APG III) considers the
Ranunculaceae to be among the most basal of the derived Eudicots clade (Hill & Preston,
2002):
APG Clade: EUDICOTS
APG Order: Ranunculales
APG Family: Ranunculaceae
Subfamily: Ranunculoideae
Genus: Pulsatilla
Species: Pulsatilla vulgaris Mill.
The genus Pulsatilla contains around 38 species worldwide all of which occur in the Northern
Hemisphere, mainly in Europe and Asia with two species in North America. Nine species occur
in Europe (Akeroyd, 1993). Five of these are restricted to the montane regions of southwest,
central-south and southeast Europe (P. alba, P. alpina, P. halleri, P. montana, P. rubra); the
remaining four taxa are more widespread in the lowlands of northern, central and eastern
Europe extending from the Atlantic to Eurasia (P. patens, P. pratensis, P. vernalis, P.
vulgaris).
Pulsatilla vulgaris is told from all other Pulsatilla species by its sessile cauline leaves, deeply
pinnatisect basal leaves with 7-9 primary segments that wither in the autumn and erect
flowers (nodding in anthesis). It is a very variable species for which a number of poorly
defined infraspecific taxa have been described in the past. These, however, appear to
represent the more distinct of the numerous isolated populations and probably represent a
‘dissected continuous’ type of variation caused by post-glacial climatic changes and the
intolerance of the species to ploughing, shade and bad drainage (Akeroyd, 1993).
Consequently infraspecific taxa do not often appear to fall into the geographical pattern
characteristic of subspecies. The smaller and more isolated populations, particularly towards
the edge of the range of the species, are fairly homogeneous (as in Britain), but in other areas
there is considerable variation within populations. While it is likely that most populations are
separable from one another, there is a large amount of overlap between them and
intermediates occur frequently.
Today three subspecies are usually accepted. Subspecies vulgaris, to which all English
populations belong, is the most widespread taxon extending from 61º N in Sweden to c. 45º N
in the Bordeau region of France and from Gloucestershire in England to near to Poznan in
western Poland where it is replaced by subsp. grandis (Lindell, 1998). Subsp. vulgaris is
distinguished by the greater degree of lobing in the leaves (>100;