Ranunculus fascicularis |
Ranunculus laxicaulis |
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early buttercup, early crowfoot, prairie buttercup, tuft buttercup |
Mississippi buttercup |
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Roots | always both filiform and tuberous on same stem. |
not thickened basally, glabrous. |
Stems | erect or ascending, never rooting nodally, strigose or spreading-strigose, base not bulbous. |
erect or ascending, often rooting at proximal nodes, glabrous or sparsely pilose. |
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. |
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Proximal cauline leaf blades | ovate to lanceolate or narrowly elliptic, 1.5-5.7 × 0.4-2.4 cm, base cordate to acute, margins finely denticulate or entire, apex broadly rounded to acuminate. |
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Inflorescences | bracts linear to lanceolate or oblanceolate. |
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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 4-5, spreading or reflexed from base, 2-3 × 1.5-3 mm, glabrous or pubescent; petals 4-6, 2-6 × 1-2 mm; nectary scales glabrous. |
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 to ovoid, 2-4 × 2-3 mm; achenes 0.8-1 × 0.8 mm, glabrous; beak deciduous, leaving stump 0.1-0.2 mm. |
2n | = 32. |
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Ranunculus fascicularis |
Ranunculus laxicaulis |
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Phenology | Flowering winter–spring (Jan–Jun). | Flowering late winter–summer (Mar–Jul). |
Habitat | Grassland or deciduous forest | Around ponds and ditches, in meadows, roadsides, and open woods |
Elevation | 0-300 m (0-1000 ft) | 0-100 m (0-300 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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AL; AR; DE; GA; IL; IN; KS; KY; LA; MD; MO; MS; NC; NJ; OK; SC; TN; TX; VA
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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.) |
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Source | FNA vol. 3. | FNA vol. 3. |
Parent taxa | Ranunculaceae > Ranunculus > subg. Ranunculus > sect. Ranunculus | Ranunculaceae > Ranunculus > subg. Ranunculus > sect. Flammula |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | R. fascicularis var. apricus | R. mississippiensis, R. subcordatus, R. texensis |
Name authority | Muhlenberg ex J. M. Bigelow: Fl. Boston., 137. (1814) | Darby: Man. Bot. 2: 4. (1841) |
Web links |