Ranunculus ficaria
ficaire, fig buttercup, lesser celandine, pilewort, renoncule ficaire
erect to decumbent, not rooting nodally, glabrous, not bulbous-based, spheric or ellipsoid bulbils sometimes formed in leaf axils.
simple and undivided, blades cordate to deltate or semicircular, 1.8-3.7 × 2-4 cm, base cordate, margins entire or crenate, apex rounded or obtuse.
receptacle glabrous;
sepals spreading, saccate at extreme base, 4-9 × 3-6 mm, glabrous;
petals yellow, 10-15 × 3-7 mm.
hemispheric, 4-5 × 6-8 mm;
achenes 2.6-2.8 × 1.8-2 mm, pubescent;
beak absent.
roots present.
Ranunculus ficaria
In North America, Ranunculus ficaria seems to be expanding its range rapidly in areas with cool mesic climates.
The species is extremely variable (especially in leaf size and stem posture), and many attempts have been made to divide it into varieties or subspecies (see P. D. Sell 1994). The different forms, however, intergrade extensively and the varieties are often impossible to distinguish.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
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