Ranunculus ficaria |
Ranunculus gmelinii |
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ficaire, fig buttercup, lesser celandine, pilewort, renoncule ficaire |
Gmelin's buttercup, Gmelin's water buttercup, lesser yellow water crowfoot, renoncule de Gmelin, small yellow water-buttercup, yellow water crowfoot |
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Stems | erect to decumbent, not rooting nodally, glabrous, not bulbous-based, spheric or ellipsoid bulbils sometimes formed in leaf axils. |
prostrate or sometimes floating, glabrous or hirsute, rooting nodally. |
Leaves | basal leaves absent, cauline leaf blades reniform to circular, 3-parted, 0.6-6.5 × 1.1-9 cm, base cordate, segments again 1-3x-lobed to -dissected, margins entire or crenate, apex rounded to filiform. |
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Basal leaves | 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. |
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Flowers | receptacle glabrous; sepals spreading, saccate at extreme base, 4-9 × 3-6 mm, glabrous; petals yellow, 10-15 × 3-7 mm. |
receptacle sparsely hispid; sepals 4-5, spreading or reflexed from base, 2-5 × 2-4 mm, glabrous or sparsely pilose; petals 4-14, 3-7 × 2-5 mm; nectary scale variable, crescent-shaped, funnel-shaped, or flaplike; style 0.2-0.4 mm. |
Heads of achenes | hemispheric, 4-5 × 6-8 mm; achenes 2.6-2.8 × 1.8-2 mm, pubescent; beak absent. |
globose or ovoid, 3-8 × 3-7 mm; achenes 1-1.6 × 1-1.2 mm, glabrous; beak narrowly lanceolate or filiform, 0.4-0.8 mm. |
Tuberous | roots present. |
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2n | = 16, 32, 64. |
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Ranunculus ficaria |
Ranunculus gmelinii |
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Phenology | Flowering spring (Apr–May). | Flowering spring–summer (May–Sep). |
Habitat | Shaded stream banks and moist disturbed areas | Shallow water or drying mud, wet meadows, swamps, marshes, ponds, shores of rivers |
Elevation | 0-300 m (0-1000 ft) | 0-2800 m (0-9200 ft) |
Distribution |
CT; DC; IL; KY; MA; MD; MI; MO; NJ; NY; OH; OR; PA; RI; TN; VA; WA; WV; BC; NF; ON; QC; native to Europe [Introduced in North America]
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AK; CO; IA; ID; IL; ME; MI; MN; MT; ND; NM; NV; OR; UT; WA; WI; WY; AB; BC; MB; NB; NF; NS; NT; ON; PE; QC; SK; YT; Eurasia
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Discussion | 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.) |
Ranunculus gmelinii has been divided into varieties on the basis of indument and flower size. These characters are variable and poorly correlated with one another, however, and these varieties scarcely seem natural. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 3. | FNA vol. 3. |
Parent taxa | ||
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | R. ficaria subsp. bulbifer, R. ficaria subsp. calthifolius, R. ficaria var. bulbifera | R. gmelinii subsp. purshii, R. gmelinii var. hookeri, R. gmelinii var. limosus, R. gmelinii var. prolificus, R. purshii |
Name authority | Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 1: 550. (1753) | de Candolle: Syst. Nat. 1: 303. (1817) |
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