Observations by adagia-l

Wallowa County Anemone piperi Adagia L.
Exploration of Anemone piperi from the Ranunculaceae Family
The plant I chose to report on is Anemone piperi (Piper’s anemone). It belongs to the kingdom Plantae (plants which are multicellular autotrophs with eukaryotic cells), the phylum Tracheophyta (vascular plants), the class Magnoliopsida (dicots with floral parts and seeds), the order Ranunculales (flowering buttercup plants), and the family Ranunculaceae. Of course, its genus is Anemone and the species is piperi. Members of the family Ranunculaceae have hypogenous flowers which can be regular, irregular, inconspicuous, or showy. They have five to ten nectary-bearing petals, spirally arranged stamens, at least two pistils, and distinct sepals. Furthermore, almost all are forbs with achenes or follicles as fruits and leaves of multiple kinds (simple, compound, alternate, opposite, or whorled).
Several morphological traits classify this particular species as it is. Members of this species are perennial forbs. The flowers are showy and solitary with five to six white sepals, white or purple petals, many stamens and pistils, three dissected leaves in a whorl around the stem right below the peduncle, and achenes for fruits. My collected specimen was 22 centimeters tall and had white petals as well as dissected leaves growing from a basal petiole.
Anemone piperi is similar to other members of the Ranunculaceae family. Some of these include Ranunculus orthorhynchus, Ranunculus alismaefolius, and Ranunculus glaberrimus. All four species share numerous morphological characteristics. They are perennial forbs with at least five nectary-bearing petals, achenes for fruits, and lobed to dissected leaves. They have complete flowers, which means they have both male and female reproductive organs.
Members of the species Anemone piperi are angiosperms that reproduce sexually. Having showy flowers enables them to attract pollinating insects like butterflies and bees more easily. After pollination, eggs in the ovaries become fertilized and become embryos of the seeds. Once a seed germinates and grows a plant, it prepares for reproduction so the process can begin again.
The specimen I collected was located at Wallowa Lake State Park. It was found in an area of shaded moist coniferous woods in glacial till soil at an East aspect. Associated species in its community include buttercups, ponderosa pines, meadow grasses, other conifers, and other windflowers. It is at an elevation of about 1,333 meters.
I noticed a couple of characteristics on my specimen which I believe are adaptations that enable the species to survive. First of all, it has white petals, whereas some members of the species have purple petals. I believe that it has the more common white petals because that color tends to attract more pollinators. My specimen also has leaves growing from a basal petiole, which I believe is for the purpose of capturing more sunlight through more leaves. My Anemone piperi collection, along with my other collections in the Ranunculaceae family (Delphinium nuttallianum; Ranunculus orthorhynchus; alismaefolius; and glaberrimus), has many stamens and pistils for better chances of higher reproduction rates. They also possess showy and brightly-colored petals to attract pollinators.
References: Hitchcock, and Cronquist. Flora of the Pacific Northwest.