The green links below add additional plants to the comparison table. Blue links lead to other Web sites.
enable glossary links

Carter's buttercup

blister buttercup, celery-leaf buttercup, celery-leaf crowfoot, cursed buttercup, cursed crowfoot, cursed crowsfoot, renoncule scélérate

Stems

erect, glabrous, rooting at base, only very rarely rooting at proximal nodes.

Leaves

basal and cauline, basal and proximal cauline leaf blades reniform to semicircular in outline, 3-lobed or -parted, 1-5 × 1.6-6.8 cm, base truncate to cordate, segments usually again lobed or parted, sometimes undivided, margins crenate or crenate-lobulate, apex rounded or occasionally obtuse.

Flowers

receptacle pubescent or glabrous;

sepals 3-5, reflexed from or near base, 2-5 × 1-3 mm, glabrous or sparsely hirsute;

petals 3-5, 2-5 × 1-3 mm;

nectary on petal surface, scale poorly developed and forming crescent-shaped or circular ridge surrounding but not covering nectary;

style absent.

Heads of achenes

ellipsoid or cylindric heads, 5-13 × 3-7 mm;

achenes 1-1.2 × 0.8-1 mm, glabrous;

beak deltate, usually straight, 0.1 mm.

Ranunculus bonariensis

Ranunculus sceleratus

Distribution
from FNA
CA; temperate South America
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AK; AL; AR; AZ; CA; CO; CT; DC; DE; FL; GA; IA; ID; IL; IN; KS; KY; LA; MA; MD; ME; MI; MN; MO; MS; MT; NC; ND; NE; NH; NJ; NM; NV; NY; OH; OK; OR; PA; RI; SC; SD; TN; TX; UT; VA; VT; WA; WI; WV; WY; AB; BC; MB; NB; NF; NS; NT; ON; QC; SK; YT; Eurasia
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Varieties 3 (1 in the flora).

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Varieties 2 (2 in the flora).

Ranunculus sceleratus varieties were used by the Thompson Indians as a poison for their arrow points (D. E. Moerman 1986).

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Key
1. Faces of achene with fine transverse wrinkles; leaf blades lobed or parted, segments undivided or lobed, margins crenate.
var. sceleratus
1. Faces of achene smooth; leaf blades always parted (often deeply so), segments lobed or parted, margins deeply crenate or lobulate.
var. multifidus
Source FNA vol. 3. FNA vol. 3.
Parent taxa Ranunculaceae > Ranunculus > subg. Ranunculus > sect. Flammula Ranunculaceae > Ranunculus > subg. Ranunculus > sect. Hecatonia
Sibling taxa
R. abortivus, R. acriformis, R. acris, R. adoneus, R. alismifolius, R. allegheniensis, R. allenii, R. ambigens, R. andersonii, R. aquatilis, R. arizonicus, R. arvensis, R. auricomus, R. austro-oreganus, R. bulbosus, R. californicus, R. canus, R. cardiophyllus, R. cooleyae, R. cymbalaria, R. eschscholtzii, R. fascicularis, R. fasciculatus, R. ficaria, R. flabellaris, R. flammula, R. gelidus, R. glaberrimus, R. glacialis, R. gmelinii, R. gormanii, R. harveyi, R. hebecarpus, R. hederaceus, R. hispidus, R. hydrocharoides, R. hyperboreus, R. hystriculus, R. inamoenus, R. jovis, R. kamtschaticus, R. lapponicus, R. laxicaulis, R. lobbii, R. macauleyi, R. macounii, R. macranthus, R. marginatus, R. micranthus, R. muricatus, R. nivalis, R. occidentalis, R. oresterus, R. orthorhynchus, R. pacificus, R. pallasii, R. parviflorus, R. pedatifidus, R. pensylvanicus, R. platensis, R. populago, R. pusillus, R. pygmaeus, R. ranunculinus, R. recurvatus, R. repens, R. rhomboideus, R. sabinei, R. sardous, R. sceleratus, R. sulphureus, R. testiculatus, R. trilobus, R. triternatus, R. turneri, R. uncinatus
R. abortivus, R. acriformis, R. acris, R. adoneus, R. alismifolius, R. allegheniensis, R. allenii, R. ambigens, R. andersonii, R. aquatilis, R. arizonicus, R. arvensis, R. auricomus, R. austro-oreganus, R. bonariensis, R. bulbosus, R. californicus, R. canus, R. cardiophyllus, R. cooleyae, R. cymbalaria, R. eschscholtzii, R. fascicularis, R. fasciculatus, R. ficaria, R. flabellaris, R. flammula, R. gelidus, R. glaberrimus, R. glacialis, R. gmelinii, R. gormanii, R. harveyi, R. hebecarpus, R. hederaceus, R. hispidus, R. hydrocharoides, R. hyperboreus, R. hystriculus, R. inamoenus, R. jovis, R. kamtschaticus, R. lapponicus, R. laxicaulis, R. lobbii, R. macauleyi, R. macounii, R. macranthus, R. marginatus, R. micranthus, R. muricatus, R. nivalis, R. occidentalis, R. oresterus, R. orthorhynchus, R. pacificus, R. pallasii, R. parviflorus, R. pedatifidus, R. pensylvanicus, R. platensis, R. populago, R. pusillus, R. pygmaeus, R. ranunculinus, R. recurvatus, R. repens, R. rhomboideus, R. sabinei, R. sardous, R. sulphureus, R. testiculatus, R. trilobus, R. triternatus, R. turneri, R. uncinatus
Subordinate taxa
R. bonariensis var. trisepalus
R. sceleratus var. multifidus, R. sceleratus var. sceleratus
Synonyms Hecatonia scelerata
Name authority Poiret: in J. Lamarck et al., Encycl. 6: 102. (1804) Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 1: 551. (1753)
Web links