Ranunculus adoneus |
Ranunculus pensylvanicus |
|
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alpine buttercup |
bristly buttercup, bristly crowfoot, Pennsylvania buttercup, renoncule de pennsylvanie |
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Roots | slender, 0.8-1.4 mm thick. |
never tuberous. |
Stems | erect from large caudices, 9-25 cm, glabrous, each with 1-3 flowers. |
erect, 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 broadly cordate in outline, 3-foliolate, 1.6-7 × 3-9 cm, leaflets cleft, usually deeply so, ultimate segments narrowly elliptic, margins toothed, apex acute. |
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 hirsute; sepals reflexed ca. 1 mm above base, 3-5 × 1.5-2 mm, ± hispid; petals 5, yellow, 2-4 × 1-2.5 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. |
cylindric, 9-12 × 5-7 mm; achenes 1.8-2.8 × 1.6-2 mm, glabrous, margin forming narrow rib 0.1-0.2 mm wide; beak persistent, broadly lanceolate or nearly deltate, straight or nearly so, 0.6-0.8 mm. |
2 | n = 16. |
|
2n | = 16. |
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Ranunculus adoneus |
Ranunculus pensylvanicus |
|
Phenology | Flowering late spring–summer (Jun–Aug). | |
Habitat | Spring-summer (May–Sep). Alpine and subalpine meadows, usually around melting snowbanks | Stream banks, bogs, moist clearings, depressions in woodlands |
Elevation | 2500-4000 m (8200-13100 ft) | 0-1700 m (0-5600 ft) |
Distribution |
CO; ID; MT; NV; UT; WY
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AK; AZ; CO; CT; DC; DE; IA; ID; IL; IN; MA; MD; ME; MI; MN; MT; ND; NE; NH; NJ; NM; NY; OH; PA; RI; SD; VT; WA; WI; WV; WY; AB; BC; MB; NB; NF; NS; NT; ON; PE; QC; SK
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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.) |
Ojibwa tribes used Ranunculus pensylvanicus as a hunting medicine; the Potawatomi used it as an astringent for miscellaneous diseases (D. E. Moerman 1986). (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 | |
Name authority | A. Gray: Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia 15: 56. (1863) | Linnaeus f.: Suppl. Pl., 272. (1782) |
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