Ranunculus fascicularis |
Ranunculus acriformis |
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early buttercup, early crowfoot, prairie buttercup, tuft buttercup |
sharpleaf buttercup |
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Roots | always both filiform and tuberous on same stem. |
never tuberous, sometimes thick and ± fleshy proximally. |
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Stems | erect or ascending, never rooting nodally, strigose or spreading-strigose, base not bulbous. |
erect, not rooting nodally, hirsute or strigose, base not bulbous. |
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Basal leaf | blades ovate to broadly ovate in outline, 3-5-foliolate, 2.1-4.7 × 1.9-4.5 cm, leaflets undivided or 1x-lobed or -parted, ultimate segments oblanceolate or obovate, margins entire or with few teeth, apex rounded-acute to rounded-obtuse. |
blades broadly ovate to cordate or sometimes reniform in outline, deeply 3-divided or occasionally 3-foliolate, 2.2-6 × 2.5-7.7(-10) cm, divisions 1-2x deeply parted or -dissected, ultimate segments linear to broadly linear, margins entire (occasionally a lobe reduced to large tooth), apex acute or rounded-acute. |
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Flowers | receptacle hispid or glabrous; sepals spreading or sometimes reflexed from base, 5-7 × 2-3 mm, hispid or glabrous; petals 5(-7), yellow, 8-14 × 3-6 mm. |
receptacle glabrous; sepals spreading or variously reflexed, 4-6 × 2-4 mm, appressed-hirsute; petals 5(-10), yellow, 7-13 × 4-10 mm. |
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Heads of achenes | globose or ovoid, 5-9 × 5-8 mm; achenes 2-2.8 × 1.8-2.2 mm, glabrous, margin forming narrow rib 0.1-0.2 mm wide; beak persistent, filiform, straight, 1.2-2.8 mm. |
hemispheric or globose, 5-8 × 6-8(-10) mm; achenes 2.2-3.4 × 2-3 mm, glabrous, margin forming narrow rib 0.1-0.2 mm wide; beak persistent, lanceolate, strongly curved, 0.4-1.6 mm. |
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2n | = 32. |
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Ranunculus fascicularis |
Ranunculus acriformis |
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Phenology | Flowering winter–spring (Jan–Jun). | |||||||||
Habitat | Grassland or deciduous forest | |||||||||
Elevation | 0-300 m (0-1000 ft) | |||||||||
Distribution |
AL; AR; CT; GA; IA; IL; IN; KS; KY; LA; MA; MD; MI; MN; MO; MS; NC; NE; NJ; NY; OH; OK; PA; RI; SC; TN; TX; VA; VT; WI; MB; ON
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CO; ID; MT; UT; WY
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Discussion | Ranunculus fascicularis is very similar to R. hispidus var. hispidus, and herbarium specimens without underground parts may be difficult to identify. Ranunculus fascicularis grows in drier habitats; segments of its leaves are commonly oblanceolate and blunt, with few or no marginal teeth; and its petals are widest at or below the middle. Ranunculus hispidus var. hispidus is usually larger in all its parts (leaves, flowers, heads of achenes); leaf segments are variable in shape but their apices are normally sharper and their marginal teeth more numerous, and petals are widest above the middle. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Varieties 3 (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
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Key |
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Source | FNA vol. 3. | FNA vol. 3. | ||||||||
Parent taxa | Ranunculaceae > Ranunculus > subg. Ranunculus > sect. Ranunculus | Ranunculaceae > Ranunculus > subg. Ranunculus > sect. Ranunculus | ||||||||
Sibling taxa | ||||||||||
Subordinate taxa | ||||||||||
Synonyms | R. fascicularis var. apricus | |||||||||
Name authority | Muhlenberg ex J. M. Bigelow: Fl. Boston., 137. (1814) | A. Gray: Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts 21: 374. (1886) | ||||||||
Web links |