globeflower, any of about 20 species of perennial herbaceous plants constituting the genus Trollius of the buttercup family, Ranunculaceae, native mostly to North Temperate Zone wetlands.
The common European globeflower (T. europaeus), up to 60 cm (about 2 feet) tall, is often cultivated in moist gardens and along pond edges; most of its horticultural varieties have yellow to orange ball-shaped flowers 2.5 to 5 cm (1 to 2 inches) across. Typically the dark green to bronzy leaves are three- to five-lobed, or divided, like the fingers of a hand. The American spreading globeflower (T. laxus), with greenish-yellow flowers, is native to the swamps of the eastern United States; T. laxus albiflorus is a white-flowered variety found in the northwestern United States.