Ranunculus acris |
Ranunculus pacificus |
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acrid buttercup, bouton d'or, meadow buttercup, renoncule âcre, tall buttercup, tall crowfoot |
Pacific buttercup |
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Roots | never tuberous. |
never tuberous. |
Stems | erect from short caudex or rhizome, never rooting nodally, hispid, strigose, or glabrous, base not bulbous. |
erect or reclining, never rooting nodally, hispid or glabrous, base not bulbous. |
Basal leaf | blades pentagonal in outline, deeply 3-5-parted, 1.8-5.2 × 2.7-9.8 cm, segments 1-2x-lobed or -parted, ultimate segments narrowly elliptic or oblong to lanceolate, margins toothed or lobulate, apex acute to rounded. |
blades broadly triangular to cordate in outline, 3-foliolate, 6-13 × 8-16 cm, leaflets lobed, margins toothed, ultimate segments elliptic to lance-elliptic or oblong, margins toothed, apex acute or obtuse. |
Flowers | receptacle glabrous; sepals spreading, 4-6(-9) × 2-5 mm, hispid; petals 5, yellow, 8-11(-17) × 7-13 mm. |
receptacle hispid; sepals reflexed 1-2 mm above base, 6-9 × 3-4 mm, sparsely hispid; petals 5, abaxially yellow or purplish, adaxially yellow, 9-11 × 6-8 mm. |
Heads of achenes | globose, 5-7(-10) mm wide; achenes 2-3 × 1.8-2.4 mm, glabrous, margin forming narrow rib 0.1-0.2 mm wide; beak persistent, deltate, usually with tip short or long, straight or curved, subulate, 0.2-1 mm. |
ovoid to globose, 9-11 × 8-11 mm; achenes 3.2-3.8 × 2-3 mm, glabrous, margin forming narrow rib 0.1-0.2 mm wide; beak persistent, lanceolate or subulate from triangular base, straight or tip weakly hooked, 1-1.8 mm. |
2n | = 14. |
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Ranunculus acris |
Ranunculus pacificus |
|
Phenology | Flowering spring–summer (May–Sep). | Flowering summer (Jul). |
Habitat | Meadows, stream banks, roadsides, and old fields | Along streams and in meadows |
Elevation | 0-2300 m (0-7500 ft) | 0 m (0 ft) |
Distribution |
AK; AL; AZ; CA; CT; DC; DE; GA; IA; ID; IL; IN; KS; KY; MA; MD; ME; MI; MN; MO; MT; NC; ND; NE; NH; NJ; NV; NY; OH; OR; PA; RI; SC; SD; TN; UT; VA; VT; WA; WI; WV; WY; AB; BC; MB; NB; NF; NS; NT; ON; PE; QC; SK; SPM; South America; Pacific Islands; Greenland; Eurasia; Australia [Largely introduced]
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AK |
Discussion | Ranunculus acris is variable in form and division of leaves, size of achene beak, and form of indument on the proximal stem. Most North American plants are weedy and have poorly differentiated caudices; these forms probably were introduced from Eurasia. Rhizomatous plants with large flowers (parenthetic measurements above) found in the Aleutian Islands of Alaska and in Greenland are probably native. Aleutian populations of this form have been called R. acris var. frigidus Regel or R. grandis Honda var. austrokurilensis (Tatewaki) H. Hara. Both names were originally applied to Asiatic plants, and their applicability to American specimens is open to question. Some Native American tribes used Ranunculus acris as an analgesic, a dermatological or oral aid, an antidiarrheal, antihermorrhagic, and a sedative (D. E. Moerman 1986). (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Ranunculus pacificus is endemic to the Alaska panhandle. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 3. | FNA vol. 3. |
Parent taxa | Ranunculaceae > Ranunculus > subg. Ranunculus > sect. Ranunculus | Ranunculaceae > Ranunculus > subg. Ranunculus > sect. Ranunculus |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | R. acris var. latisectus | R. septentrionalis subsp. pacificus |
Name authority | Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 1: 554. (1753) | (Hultén) L. D. Benson: Amer. Midl. Naturalist 40: 79. (1948) |
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