Ranunculus fascicularis |
Ranunculus trilobus |
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early buttercup, early crowfoot, prairie buttercup, tuft buttercup |
threelobe 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 reclining, hispid or sometimes 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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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. |
pedicellate; receptacle hispid; sepals 5, reflexed, 3-4 × 2 mm, sparsely hispid; petals 5, 4-5 × 2-3 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. |
ovoid, 8-9 × 6-7 mm; achenes 30-60 per head, 2 × 2 mm, faces densely tuberculate, glabrous, margin smooth; beak semicircular, hooked, 0.3 mm. |
Basal | and lower cauline leaf blades cordate-ovate, 3-foliolate, 5-8 × 3-6(-7) cm, leaflets again cleft or parted, leaflet base obtuse to acute, margins dentate, apex rounded to acute. |
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2n | = 32. |
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Ranunculus fascicularis |
Ranunculus trilobus |
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Phenology | Flowering winter–spring (Jan–Jun). | Flowering spring (Apr). |
Habitat | Grassland or deciduous forest | Fields and roadsides |
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; FL; LA; SC; TX; native to Europe [Introduced in North America] |
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. Echinella |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | R. fascicularis var. apricus | |
Name authority | Muhlenberg ex J. M. Bigelow: Fl. Boston., 137. (1814) | Desfontaines: Fl. Atlant. 1: 437. (1799) |
Web links |