Ranunculus aquatilis
Ranunculus gormanii
renoncule aquatique, water buttercup, water crowfoot, white water butter cup, white water crowfoot, white water crowsfoot, white western buttercup
Gorman's buttercup
thickened basally, glabrous.
glabrous.
prostrate, sometimes rooting nodally, glabrous.
laminate and filiform-dissected; laminate leaf blades reniform, 3-parted, 0.4-1.1 × 0.7-2.3 cm, segments obovate or fan-shaped, shallowly cleft, margins crenate;
filiform-dissected leaves with stipules gradually tapering upward, connate for their whole length.
narrowly to broadly ovate, 1.2-4 × 0.7-2 cm, base rounded, truncate or sometimes obtuse, margins entire or denticulate, apex obtuse or acute.
bracts ovate or sometimes lanceolate.
receptacle hispid, rarely glabrous;
sepals spreading or reflexed, 2-4 × 1-2 mm, glabrous;
petals 5, 4-7 × 1-5 mm;
style 0.1-0.8 mm.
receptacle glabrous;
sepals 5, spreading or reflexed from near base, 2-4 × 1-3 mm, glabrous;
petals 5-6, 4-6 × 2-4 mm;
nectary scales glabrous.
usually recurved.
hemispheric to ovoid, 2-4 × 2-5 mm;
achenes 1-2 × 0.8-1.4 mm, glabrous or hispid;
beak persistent, filiform, 0.1-1.2 mm.
hemispheric, 2-3 × 3-4 mm;
achenes 1.2-2 × 1.2-1.4 mm, glabrous;
beak lanceolate to subulate, straight or curved, 0.6-0.8 mm.
Ranunculus aquatilis
Ranunculus gormanii
Varieties 2 (2 in the flora).
Ranunculus aquatilis is very variable. In the past it has often been treated as three or four species and many varieties. These segregate taxa have been based on the size, petiolation and rigidity of the leaves (now known to be primarily under environmental control), petal size and curvature of the fruiting pedicel (both sometimes variable along single stem), and number of achenes per head and length of achene beak (which vary continuously and are not correlated with one another). Unless reliable characters can be found, only two of the taxa recognized in older floras can be maintained.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Ranunculus gormanii is restricted to middle elevations in the Klamath and southern Cascade Mountains.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
1. Leaves of 2 types: laminate and filiform-dissected; w North America. | var. aquatilis |
1. Leaves all filiform-dissected; widespread. | var. diffusus |
- Local floras:
BC, 
CA, 
OR, 
WA - Local Web sites: CalFlora, CalPhotos,
Flora NW, 
Go Botany, 
IL Wildflowers, 
KS Wildflowers, 
MD Biodiversity, 
MI Flora, 
MN Wildflowers, 
MO Plants, 
PNW Herbaria, Turner Photog. 
WildflowerSearch
iNaturalist (observations)
USDA Plants Database- LBJ Wildflower Center
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