Adonis chrysocyathus Hook. f. &. Thomson in Fl. Brit. India 1: 15. 1872. A. pyrenacia auct. non DC.; Hook. f. &. Thomson, Fl. Ind. 26. 1855.

Herbs, perennial; rootstock horizontal, scaly; flowering stems erect, up to 30 cm high, increasing in length in fruiting. Radical leaves 6 - 16 cm long, deltoid, with long-petioles, pinnately decompound; segments narrow, linear, subcuneate. Flowers large, 5 - 6 cm across, golden yellow. Sepals petaloid, 7 - 8, obovate, acute, many-nerved. Petals 16 - 24, spreading, narrowly obovate, obtuse, twice as long as sepals. Stamens many. Achenes in a dense ca 1.5 cm wide head, glabrous, not angular, ca 1.6 cm wide, flattened towards apex, turgid, convex dorsally, obtusely keeled; beak tapering, revolute, hooked.

Fl. May - June; Fr. July - Sept.

Distrib. Alpine zones in damp places, 3300 - 4500 m. Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.

W. Nepal and China (W. Tibet).

Notes. Some authors treat this under Chrysocyathus falconeri Chartek & Siavikova.

Poisonous plant, known to cause flatulence and eventual death to grazing animals, particularly horses.