Burke: Ranunculus repens vs. Ranunculus triternatus

	Ranunculus repens	Ranunculus triternatus
	creeping buttercup	obscure buttercup
Habit		Perennial from a large cluster of fleshy roots, the several stems mostly erect, 5-20 cm. long, nearly glabrous, simple or branched above.
Leaves		Leaves mostly basal; all leaves tri-ternately dissected into linear segments
Flowers		Flowers 1-several on pedicels up to 10 cm. long; sepals 5, spreading, purplish-tinged, 5-8 mm. long, glabrous to stiff-hairy; petals 5, yellow, 8-15 mm. long; nectary scale wedge-shaped, 1.5-2 mm. long, forming a deep pocket; receptacle globose; stamens 40-80; pistils 30-150.
Fruits		Achenes 1.5-2 mm. long, obovate, smooth; stylar beak straight, 0.5-0.8 mm. long.

	Ranunculus repens	Ranunculus triternatus
Flowering time	April-August	January-April
Habitat	Wet meadows and fields, riparian corridors disturbed forest understory, lawns, and other disturbed areas where often moist.	Sagebrush slopes.
Distribution	Occurring throughout Washington, but more common west of the Cascades crest; Alaska to California and Utah, and from central plains of U.S. to Labrador. [WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]	Occurring east of the Cascades crest in Washington, where known from Klickitat County; south-central Washington to Wasco County, Oregon. [WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]
Origin	Introduced from Europe	Native
Conservation status	Not of concern	Endangered in Washington (WANHP)
Sibling taxa	R. abortivus, R. acris, R. alismifolius, R. aquatilis, R. arvensis, R. bulbosus, R. californicus, R. cardiophyllus, R. eschscholtzii, R. flabellaris, R. flammula, R. glaberrimus, R. gmelinii, R. grayi, R. hebecarpus, R. inamoenus, R. macounii, R. muricatus, R. occidentalis, R. orthorhynchus, R. parviflorus, R. pensylvanicus, R. populago, R. pygmaeus, R. sardous, R. sceleratus, R. triternatus, R. uncinatus	R. abortivus, R. acris, R. alismifolius, R. aquatilis, R. arvensis, R. bulbosus, R. californicus, R. cardiophyllus, R. eschscholtzii, R. flabellaris, R. flammula, R. glaberrimus, R. gmelinii, R. grayi, R. hebecarpus, R. inamoenus, R. macounii, R. muricatus, R. occidentalis, R. orthorhynchus, R. parviflorus, R. pensylvanicus, R. populago, R. pygmaeus, R. repens, R. sardous, R. sceleratus, R. uncinatus
Web links	Local floras: BC, CA, OR, WA Local Web sites: CalFlora, CalPhotos, Flora NW, PNW Herbaria, Turner Photog. WildflowerSearch iNaturalist (observations) USDA Plants Database LBJ Wildflower Center SEINet Plants of the World Online Encyclopedia of Life Wikipedia Google Image Search	Local floras: OR, WA Local Web sites: Flora NW, PNW Herbaria, Turner Photog. WildflowerSearch iNaturalist (observations) USDA Plants Database LBJ Wildflower Center SEINet Plants of the World Online Encyclopedia of Life Wikipedia Google Image Search

Ranunculus repens

Ranunculus triternatus

creeping buttercup

obscure buttercup

Habit

Perennial from a large cluster of fleshy roots, the several stems mostly erect, 5-20 cm. long, nearly glabrous, simple or branched above.

Leaves

Leaves mostly basal; all leaves tri-ternately dissected into linear segments

Flowers

Flowers 1-several on pedicels up to 10 cm. long;

sepals 5, spreading, purplish-tinged, 5-8 mm. long, glabrous to stiff-hairy;

petals 5, yellow, 8-15 mm. long;

nectary scale wedge-shaped, 1.5-2 mm. long, forming a deep pocket;

receptacle globose;

stamens 40-80;

pistils 30-150.

Fruits

Achenes 1.5-2 mm. long, obovate, smooth; stylar beak straight, 0.5-0.8 mm. long.

Ranunculus repens

Ranunculus triternatus

Flowering time

April-August

January-April

Habitat

Wet meadows and fields, riparian corridors disturbed forest understory, lawns, and other disturbed areas where often moist.

Sagebrush slopes.

Distribution

Occurring throughout Washington, but more common west of the Cascades crest; Alaska to California and Utah, and from central plains of U.S. to Labrador.

[WildflowerSearch map]

[BONAP county map]