Ranunculus adoneus |
Ranunculus macranthus |
|
---|---|---|
alpine buttercup |
large buttercup, showy buttercup, smallflower buttercup |
|
Roots | slender, 0.8-1.4 mm thick. |
tuberous. |
Stems | erect from large caudices, 9-25 cm, glabrous, each with 1-3 flowers. |
erect or decumbent, never rooting nodally, hispid, base not bulbous. |
Basal leaves | persistent, blades circular to reniform in outline, 2-3x-dissected into linear segments, 0.9-2.5 × 1.1-2.8 cm, base obtuse, margins entire, apices of segments narrowly rounded to acute. |
blades ovate in outline, 3-5-foliolate, 3.8-10 × 2.7-9 cm, leaflets 1x-lobed, ultimate segments narrowly elliptic to oblanceolate, margins entire or with few teeth, apex broadly acute to rounded-obtuse. |
Flowers | pedicels glabrous; receptacle glabrous; sepals 4-11 × 3-7 mm, abaxially sparsely pilose, hairs colorless; petals 5-10, 8-15 × 8-19 mm; nectary scale glabrous. |
receptacle hispid; sepals spreading or weakly reflexed ca. 1 mm above base, 7-10 × 3-5 mm, hispid; petals 10-22, yellow, 12-22 × 4-9 mm. |
Heads of achenes | ovoid, 6-12 × 5-9 mm; achenes 1.8-2.4 × 1-1.4 mm, glabrous or nearly so; beak subulate, straight, 1.2-1.7 mm. |
globose to cylindric, 8-14 × 8-10 mm; achenes 2.2-4.2 × 2.8-3.4 mm, glabrous, margin forming narrow rib 0.4-0.6 mm wide; beak usually persistent, filiform from deltate base, straight, 2-4 mm. |
2 | n = 16. |
|
2n | = 32. |
|
Ranunculus adoneus |
Ranunculus macranthus |
|
Phenology | Flowering late winter–spring (Mar–May). | |
Habitat | Spring-summer (May–Sep). Alpine and subalpine meadows, usually around melting snowbanks | Riverbanks and wet meadows |
Elevation | 2500-4000 m (8200-13100 ft) | 0-400 m (0-1300 ft) |
Distribution |
CO; ID; MT; NV; UT; WY
|
TX
|
Discussion | Most collections of Ranunculus adoneus from Colorado, including the type specimen, tend to be small, with narrow leaf segments (only 0.5-1 mm wide) and large flowers. The more widespread form, with leaf segments 1-2 mm wide and more variable flowers, has been called R. adoneus var. alpinus. The leaf and flower characteristics are very poorly correlated, however, and specimens referable to var. alpinus vary greatly in stature and flower size, so the two forms scarcely merit formal recognition. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
|
Source | FNA vol. 3. | FNA vol. 3. |
Parent taxa | Ranunculaceae > Ranunculus > subg. Ranunculus > sect. Epirotes | Ranunculaceae > Ranunculus > subg. Ranunculus > sect. Ranunculus |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | R. adoneus var. alpinus, R. eschscholtzii var. adoneus, R. eschscholtzii var. alpinus | R. fascicularis var. cuneiformis |
Name authority | A. Gray: Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia 15: 56. (1863) | Scheele: Linnaea 21: 585. (1848) |
Web links |