Ranunculus austro-oreganus |
Ranunculus pygmaeus |
|
|---|---|---|
|
southern Oregon buttercup |
dwarf buttercup, pygmy buttercup |
|
| Roots | never tuberous. |
slender, 0.1-0.6 mm thick. |
| Stems | erect or ascending, never rooting nodally, crisped-pilose, base not bulbous. |
erect or ascending from short caudices, 0.6-3.5 cm (sometimes longer in fruit), each with 1-2 flowers. |
| Basal leaves | persistent, blades reniform to transversely elliptic or semicircular, 3-parted or -divided, 0.45-0.9 × 0.6-1.3 cm, at least lateral segments again lobed, base truncate or nearly cordate, margins entire, apex rounded to obtuse. |
|
| Basal leaf blades | broadly rhombic to semicircular in outline, 3-parted, 2.8-4.3 × 3-5.5 cm, segments 3-lobed, ultimate segments lanceolate, margins entire or toothed, apex narrowly acute or acuminate. |
|
| Flowers | receptacle glabrous; sepals reflexed 1 mm above base, 4-6 × 1.5-3 mm, densely pilose; petals 5, abaxially red, adaxially yellow, 10-12 × 4-6 mm. |
pedicels glabrous or pubescent; receptacle glabrous; sepals 2-4 × 1.2-1.6 mm, abaxially sparsely hairy, hairs colorless; petals 5, 1.2-3.5 × 1.1-2.8 mm; nectary scale glabrous. |
| Heads | of achenes hemispheric, 4-7 × 7-10 mm; achenes 3.4-4.2 × 2.8-3.2 mm, sometimes basally pilose, margin forming narrow rib 0.1-0.2 mm wide; beak persistent, lance-subulate, straight or somewhat curved distally, 1.6-2.6 mm. |
of achenes nearly globose to cylindric, 2.5-7 × 2.5-5 mm; achenes 1-1.2 × 0.8-1.1 mm, glabrous; beak subulate, straight or curved, 0.3-0.7 mm. |
| 2n | = 16. |
|
Ranunculus austro-oreganus |
Ranunculus pygmaeus |
|
| Phenology | Flowering spring (May). | Flowering summer (Jul–Sep). |
| Habitat | Grassy hillsides | Arctic and alpine meadows and slopes, usually around persistent snow patches |
| Elevation | 500 m [1600 ft] | 0-4000 m [0-13100 ft] |
| Distribution |
OR
|
AK; CO; ID; MT; UT; WY; AB; BC; NF; NT; QC; YT; Greenland; Europe (Spitsbergen)
|
| Discussion | Of conservation concern. Ranunculus austro-oreganus is doubtfully distinct from R. occidentalis var. howellii. L. D. Benson (1954) described the stem as bulbous-based and similar to that of R. bulbosus, but a differentiated base is not evident in material I have seen (some of which was cited by Benson). (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Ranunculus pygmaeus var. langeana has been described as having deeply divided basal leaves and strongly elongate heads of achenes (at least 5 mm). These characteristics are not well correlated with one another, however, and the variety does not seem natural. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
| Parent taxa | ||
| Sibling taxa | ||
| Synonyms | R. pygmaeus var. langeana | |
| Name authority | L. D. Benson: Amer. Midl. Naturalist 52: 341. (1954) | Wahlenberg: Fl. Lapp., 157. (1812) |
| Source | FNA vol. 3. | FNA vol. 3. |
| Web links |
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