Ranunculus fascicularis |
Ranunculus pusillus |
|
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early buttercup, early crowfoot, prairie buttercup, tuft buttercup |
low buttercup, low spearwort, weak 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, rooting at most proximal nodes, glabrous. |
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 or lanceolate, 1.2-4.2 × 0.5-1.2 cm, base acute to truncate, margins entire or denticulate, apex acuminate to rounded. |
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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, 1.5-3 × 1-1.5 mm, glabrous or sparsely hirsute; petals 1-3, 1.5-2 × 0.5-1 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 cylindric, 2-8 × 2-3 mm; achenes 1-1.2 × 0.6-0.8 mm, ± tuberculate, glabrous; beak absent or nearly so, to 0.1 mm. |
2n | = 32. |
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Ranunculus fascicularis |
Ranunculus pusillus |
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Phenology | Flowering winter–spring (Jan–Jun). | Flowering spring (Apr–Jun). |
Habitat | Grassland or deciduous forest | Ditches, ponds, and swamps |
Elevation | 0-300 m (0-1000 ft) | 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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AL; AR; CA; DC; DE; FL; GA; IL; IN; KY; LA; MD; MO; MS; NC; NJ; NY; OH; OK; PA; SC; TN; TX; VA; WV
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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.) |
In most specimens of Ranunculus pusillus, the heads of achenes are hemispheric to short-ovate and only 2-3 mm. Occasional plants with cylindric heads of achenes 4-6 mm from the Gulf Coast states have been called R. pusillus var. angustifolius. (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. Flammula |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | R. fascicularis var. apricus | R. oblongifolius, R. pusillus var. angustifolius, R. tener |
Name authority | Muhlenberg ex J. M. Bigelow: Fl. Boston., 137. (1814) | Poiret: in J. Lamarck et al., Encycl. 6: 99. (1804) |
Web links |