Ranunculus fascicularis |
Ranunculus ranunculinus |
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early buttercup, early crowfoot, prairie buttercup, tuft buttercup |
tadpole 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 from short caudices, not rooting nodally, glabrous, not bulbous-based. |
Leaves | basal leaf blades ovate to semicircular in outline, ternately or pinnately 2x-compound, 2.4-8.2 × 2-8.5 cm, leaflets parted and again lobed, ultimate segments elliptic to linear, margins entire (or occasionally a lobe reduced to tooth), apex acuminate to rounded. |
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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. |
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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 reflexed from base, 3-6 × 1-3 mm, glabrous; petals (0-)5-6, yellow, 3-8 × 1-3 mm. |
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 globose, 4-5 × 6-7 mm; achenes 2.2-3.6 × 1.2-1.8 mm, glabrous; beak filiform, strongly reflexed from base, 0.8-1.5 mm, brittle, often broken. |
Tuberous | roots absent. |
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2n | = 32. |
= 32. |
Ranunculus fascicularis |
Ranunculus ranunculinus |
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Phenology | Flowering winter–spring (Jan–Jun). | Flowering spring–summer (Apr–Aug). |
Habitat | Grassland or deciduous forest | Open grassy or brushy slopes |
Elevation | 0-300 m (0-1000 ft) | 1700-2600 m (5600-8500 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; NM; 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.) |
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Source | FNA vol. 3. | FNA vol. 3. |
Parent taxa | Ranunculaceae > Ranunculus > subg. Ranunculus > sect. Ranunculus | Ranunculaceae > Ranunculus > subg. Cyrtorhyncha > sect. Cyrtorhyncha |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | R. fascicularis var. apricus | Cyrtorhyncha ranunculina |
Name authority | Muhlenberg ex J. M. Bigelow: Fl. Boston., 137. (1814) | (Nuttall) Rydberg: Bot. Surv. Nebraska 3: 23. (1894) |
Web links |