Ranunculus canus
Hartweg's buttercup, Sacramento Valley buttercup
never tuberous.
erect to decumbent, never rooting nodally, hirsute, pilose, or glabrous, base not bulbous.
blades ovate to narrowly ovate in outline, 3-parted or -foliolate, 3.3-9.5 ×3.5-9.4 cm, leaflets or segments 1-3x-lobed, ultimate segments ovate or oblong-ovate to lanceolate, margins toothed, apex acute or obtuse.
receptacle glabrous;
sepals reflexed 1-2 mm above base, 3-8 × 2-4 mm, hirsute;
petals 5-17, yellow, 6-12 × 3-6 mm.
hemispheric to globose, 6-9 × 7-10 mm;
achenes 3.4-4.4 × 2.4-3.6 mm, glabrous or rarely hispid, margin forming narrow rib 0.1-0.2 mm wide;
beak persistent, deltate or lance-deltate, curved, 0.2-1.2 mm.
Ranunculus canus
Varieties 2 (2 in the flora).
Ranunculus canus intergrades with R. occidentalis var. occidentalis and R. californicus, and some populations can be difficult to assign to species. The deltate or lance-deltate achene beak of R. canus, however, which is usually 0.8-1.2 mm wide at the base and less than 1.5 times as long as wide, contrasts with the narrower beaks of the other two species, which are usually less than 0.6 mm wide and at least twice as long as wide.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
1. Petals 5–7; Sacramento Valley and adjacent foothills. | var. canus |
1. Petals 13–17; Transverse Ranges. | var. ludovicianus |
CA
WildflowerSearch
iNaturalist
USDA Plants Database
