View source for Eranthis

{{Short description|Genus of flowering plants in the buttercup family Ranunculaceae}}
{{Automatic taxobox
|image = Winterling-Bluete-70.jpg
|image_caption = ''[[Eranthis hyemalis]]''
|display_parents = 2
|taxon = Eranthis
|authority = [[Richard Anthony Salisbury|Salisb.]]
|subdivision_ranks = Species
|subdivision = See text
}}
'''''Eranthis''''' is a [[genus]] of eight [[species]] of [[flowering plant]]s in the buttercup [[family (biology)|family]] [[Ranunculaceae]], [[native plant|native]] to southern Europe and east across Asia to Japan.<ref>Schipcz, O. in Fl. U.S.S.R.,7 : 60 (1937).</ref><ref>''The Smaller Bulbs'' Mathew, Brian, pub. Batsford 1987 {{ISBN|0 7134 4922 5}}</ref><ref>''Growing Bulbs'', Rix, Martyn, pub. Timber Press U.S.A. {{ISBN|0-917304-87-X}} and Croom Helm U.K. {{ISBN|0-7099-2248-5}} (1983)</ref> The common name '''winter aconite''' comes from the early flowering time and the resemblance of the leaves to those of the related genus ''[[Aconitum]]'', the true aconite. Like the notoriously toxic ''Aconitum'' (and, indeed, many other genera of the Ranunculaceae) ''Eranthis'' is [[poisonous]], although its chemistry is different, the toxic compounds present being mainly [[cardiac glycosides]] of the [[bufadienolide]] group similar to those found in ''[[Adonis vernalis]]'', rather than the virulent [[alkaloids]] of ''Aconitum''.<ref>STARÝ, František, Poisonous Plants (Hamlyn colour guides) – pub. Paul Hamlyn April, 1984, translated from the Czech by Olga Kuthanová.</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://pub.jki.bund.de/index.php/JKA/article/download/85/74 |title=Archived copy |access-date=2016-05-11 |archive-date=2014-03-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140318213726/http://pub.jki.bund.de/index.php/JKA/article/download/85/74 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
[[Image:Eranthis hyemalis.jpg|thumb|Foliage at the end of flowering]]
[[File:Eranthis distribution map.jpg|thumb|right|500px|Distribution map of eight or nine species of ''Eranthis'' in Europe and Asia. (Presentation based on natural distribution given in Wikipedia pages (en, de, ru).)]]
They are [[herbaceous plant|herbaceous]] [[perennial plant|perennials]] growing to {{convert|10|-|15|cm|0|abbr=on}} tall. The [[flower]]s are yellow (white in ''E. albiflora'' and ''E. pinnatifida''), and among the first to appear in spring, as early as January in mild climates, though later where winter snowpack persists; they are frost-tolerant and readily survive fresh snow cover unharmed. The [[leaf|leaves]] only expand fully when the flowers are nearly finished; they are peltate, 5–8&nbsp;cm diameter, with several notches, and only last for 2–3 months before dying down during the late spring.
Species in this genus are [[spring ephemeral]]s, growing on [[forest]] floors and using the sunshine available below the canopy of [[deciduous]] [[tree]]s before the leaves come out; the leaves die off when the shade from tree canopies becomes dense, or, in dry areas, when summer drought reduces water availability.
They are popular [[ornamental plant]]s grown for their winter or early spring flowering. ''E. hyemalis'' is widely [[naturalisation (biology)|naturalised]] in northern Europe and North America.
==Species==
*''[[Eranthis albiflora]]''. Western China.
*''[[Eranthis cilicica]]''. Southwestern Asia.
*''[[Eranthis hyemalis]]''. Southern Europe.
*''[[Eranthis lobulata]]''. Western China.
*''[[Eranthis longistipitata]]''. Central Asia.
*''[[Eranthis pinnatifida]]''. Japan.
*''[[Eranthis sibirica]]''. Northern Asia.
*''[[Eranthis stellata]]''. Eastern Asia (northern China, Korea, southeast Russia).
*''[[Eranthis byunsanensis]]''. South Korea
==Gallery==
<gallery> File:Eranthis cilicica 001 GotBot 2016.jpg|''E. cilicica''
File:Eranthis longistipitata 02.jpg|''E. longistipitata''
File:Eranthis pinnatifida (Mount Ibuki).jpg|''E. pinnatifida'', [[Mount Ibuki]], Japan</gallery>
==See also==
* ''[[Aconitum]]''
* [[Aconitine]]
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==External links ==
{{Commons|Eranthis hyemalis|Eranthis}}
*[http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=111902 Flora of China: ''Eranthis'']
{{Taxonbar|from=Q157775}}
[[Category:Ranunculaceae]]
[[Category:Ranunculaceae genera]]