Flowers of the Alps

Butterball globe flower

Trollius europaeus or Trollblume

Photo taken in the Stubai Alps on Kreuzjoch 2000m: Allan Hartley

This tall, erect perennial is a member of the Ranunculaceae family and can grow up to 70cm tall. Unlike meadow buttercup the deeply incised palmate leaves are smooth rather than downy. The bright yellow flower, up to 5cm in diameter with 5 to 15 sepals, remains closed so that the flower resembles a ball of butter. The flowers bloom between June and August with seeds ripening between July and September; these are distributed in the dung of grazing animals which appear to be unaffected by the seed toxins. Native to northern and central Europe, the globe flower prefers the alkaline soils of damp meadows, marshy gullies and lake margins which provide sunny but sheltered positions.

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