Ranunculus fascicularis |
Ranunculus glacialis |
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early buttercup, early crowfoot, prairie buttercup, tuft buttercup |
glacier buttercup |
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Roots | always both filiform and tuberous on same stem. |
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Stems | erect or ascending, never rooting nodally, strigose or spreading-strigose, base not bulbous. |
erect or ascending from caudices, not rooting nodally, distally glabrous or brown-pilose, not bulbous-based. |
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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 reniform to broadly triangular in outline, 3-foliolate or deeply 3-parted, 1-4 × 1.6-4.4 cm, leaflets or segments 1-2x-parted, ultimate segments elliptic to oblanceolate or almost linear, margins entire or occasionally with 1-2 teeth, apex rounded to obtuse. |
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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 or brown-pilose; sepals spreading, 7-12 × 4-9 mm, brown-pilose; petals initially white, usually becoming red with age, 9-15 × 7-14(-18) 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. |
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Tuberous | roots absent. |
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Fruiting | heads hemispheric, 5-8 × 7-16 mm; fruit wall smooth, not veined, loose but not inflated, winged along suture, fruits winged achenes; achenes 2.6-3 × 1.4-2 mm, glabrous; beak persistent, lanceolate, 0.8-2.3 mm. |
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2n | = 32. |
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Ranunculus fascicularis |
Ranunculus glacialis |
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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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AK; Eurasia |
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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 2 (2 in the flora). (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. Crymodes | ||||
Sibling taxa | ||||||
Subordinate taxa | ||||||
Synonyms | R. fascicularis var. apricus | Beckwithia glacialis | ||||
Name authority | Muhlenberg ex J. M. Bigelow: Fl. Boston., 137. (1814) | Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 1: 553. (1753) | ||||
Web links |