Ranunculus fascicularis |
Ranunculus nivalis |
|
---|---|---|
early buttercup, early crowfoot, prairie buttercup, tuft buttercup |
renoncule nivale, snow buttercup |
|
Roots | always both filiform and tuberous on same stem. |
slender, 0.4-0.8 mm thick. |
Stems | erect or ascending, never rooting nodally, strigose or spreading-strigose, base not bulbous. |
erect from short caudices, 4-22 cm, glabrous or sparsely pilose, each with 1 flower. |
Basal leaves | 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. |
persistent or deciduous, blades reniform, 3-parted, 0.6-2 × 1.3-3 cm, at least lateral segments again lobed or margins toothed, base truncate or cordate, apices of segments rounded-apiculate. |
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. |
pedicels glabrous or brown-pilose; receptacle glabrous; sepals 6-8 × 3-5 mm, abaxially densely brown-hispid; petals 5(-6), 8-11 × 7-12 mm; nectary scale 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. |
cylindric or ovoid-cylindric, 7-14 × 5-6 mm; achenes 1.5-2.2 × 1.2-1.6 mm, glabrous; beak slender, straight, 1-2 mm. |
2n | = 32. |
= 48. |
Ranunculus fascicularis |
Ranunculus nivalis |
|
Phenology | Flowering winter–spring (Jan–Jun). | Flowering late spring–summer (Jun–Aug). |
Habitat | Grassland or deciduous forest | Wet or dry alpine meadows, often around late snowbeds, cliffs, and streamsides |
Elevation | 0-300 m (0-1000 ft) | 0-1300 m (0-4300 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
|
AK; AB; BC; NF; NT; QC; YT; Greenland; Eurasia |
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.) |
|
Source | FNA vol. 3. | FNA vol. 3. |
Parent taxa | Ranunculaceae > Ranunculus > subg. Ranunculus > sect. Ranunculus | Ranunculaceae > Ranunculus > subg. Ranunculus > sect. Epirotes |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | R. fascicularis var. apricus | |
Name authority | Muhlenberg ex J. M. Bigelow: Fl. Boston., 137. (1814) | Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 1: 553. (1753) |
Web links |