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sagebrush buttercup, smooth buttercup

Cooley's buttercup

Roots

cylindric, 1-3 mm thick.

Stems

prostrate or ascending, 4-15 cm, glabrous, each with 1-4 flowers.

erect from short caudices, not rooting nodally, glabrous, not bulbous-based.

Basal leaves

persistent, blades reniform or obovate to very narrowly elliptic, 0.7-5.2 × 1-2 cm, base truncate, obtuse or attenuate, margins entire or with 3 broad, apical crenae, apex rounded to acute.

Basal leaf blades

circular to reniform in outline, 3-5-parted, 0.8-3.8 × 1.7-6.9 cm, segments again lobed, ultimate segments elliptic or oblong, margins crenate, apex rounded;

cauline leaf 0-1, scalelike.

Flowers

pedicels glabrous or nearly so;

receptacle glabrous;

sepals 5-8 × 3-7 mm, abaxially glabrous or sparsely pilose, hairs colorless;

petals 5-10, 8-13 × 5-12 mm;

nectary scale glabrous or ciliate.

receptacle glabrous;

sepals spreading, yellow, 7-11 × 4-7 mm, glabrous;

petals 11-15, yellow, 8-12 × 3-5 mm.

Heads of achenes

globose, 7-12(-20) × 6-11(-20) mm;

achenes 1.4-2.2 × 1.1-1.8 mm, usually finely pubescent;

beak subulate or lance-subulate, straight or curved, 0.4-1 mm.

hemispheric or spheric, 7-8 × 9-10 mm;

achenes 2.4-4.6 × 1.2-2.2 mm, glabrous;

beak persistent, filiform, hooked distally, 1-1.8 mm.

Tuberous

roots absent.

2n

= 16.

Ranunculus glaberrimus

Ranunculus cooleyae

Phenology Flowering late spring–summer (Jun–Aug).
Habitat Slopes near persistent snowbanks
Elevation 500-1800 m (1600-5900 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
AZ; CA; CO; ID; MT; ND; NE; NM; NV; OR; SD; UT; WA; WY; AB; BC; SK
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AK; WA; BC
[WildflowerSearch map]
Discussion

Varieties 2 (2 in the flora).

Usually only a minority of the ovaries develop, and the fruiting receptacle is completely hidden by aborted ovaries. Populations growing at high elevations (Ranunculus glaberrimus var. ellipticus) and low elevations (var. glaberrimus) are usually well differentiated, but these varieties intergrade at intermediate elevations.

The Thompson Indians rubbed the flowers or the whole plant of Ranunculus glaberrimus on arrow points as a poison (D. E. Moerman 1986).

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Key
1. Basal leaf blades ovate to obovate, usually shallowly lobed; bracts 3-lobed, lobes equal in size; 400–2000 m.
var. glaberrimus
1. Basal leaf blades elliptic to oblanceolate, usually undivided; bracts 3-lobed, middle lobe much larger; 1200–3600 m.
var. ellipticus
Source FNA vol. 3. FNA vol. 3.
Parent taxa Ranunculaceae > Ranunculus > subg. Ranunculus > sect. Epirotes Ranunculaceae > Ranunculus > subg. Cyrtorhyncha > sect. Arcteranthis
Sibling taxa
R. abortivus, R. acriformis, R. acris, R. adoneus, R. alismifolius, R. allegheniensis, R. allenii, R. ambigens, R. andersonii, R. aquatilis, R. arizonicus, R. arvensis, R. auricomus, R. austro-oreganus, R. bonariensis, R. bulbosus, R. californicus, R. canus, R. cardiophyllus, R. cooleyae, R. cymbalaria, R. eschscholtzii, R. fascicularis, R. fasciculatus, R. ficaria, R. flabellaris, R. flammula, R. gelidus, R. glacialis, R. gmelinii, R. gormanii, R. harveyi, R. hebecarpus, R. hederaceus, R. hispidus, R. hydrocharoides, R. hyperboreus, R. hystriculus, R. inamoenus, R. jovis, R. kamtschaticus, R. lapponicus, R. laxicaulis, R. lobbii, R. macauleyi, R. macounii, R. macranthus, R. marginatus, R. micranthus, R. muricatus, R. nivalis, R. occidentalis, R. oresterus, R. orthorhynchus, R. pacificus, R. pallasii, R. parviflorus, R. pedatifidus, R. pensylvanicus, R. platensis, R. populago, R. pusillus, R. pygmaeus, R. ranunculinus, R. recurvatus, R. repens, R. rhomboideus, R. sabinei, R. sardous, R. sceleratus, R. sulphureus, R. testiculatus, R. trilobus, R. triternatus, R. turneri, R. uncinatus
R. abortivus, R. acriformis, R. acris, R. adoneus, R. alismifolius, R. allegheniensis, R. allenii, R. ambigens, R. andersonii, R. aquatilis, R. arizonicus, R. arvensis, R. auricomus, R. austro-oreganus, R. bonariensis, R. bulbosus, R. californicus, R. canus, R. cardiophyllus, R. cymbalaria, R. eschscholtzii, R. fascicularis, R. fasciculatus, R. ficaria, R. flabellaris, R. flammula, R. gelidus, R. glaberrimus, R. glacialis, R. gmelinii, R. gormanii, R. harveyi, R. hebecarpus, R. hederaceus, R. hispidus, R. hydrocharoides, R. hyperboreus, R. hystriculus, R. inamoenus, R. jovis, R. kamtschaticus, R. lapponicus, R. laxicaulis, R. lobbii, R. macauleyi, R. macounii, R. macranthus, R. marginatus, R. micranthus, R. muricatus, R. nivalis, R. occidentalis, R. oresterus, R. orthorhynchus, R. pacificus, R. pallasii, R. parviflorus, R. pedatifidus, R. pensylvanicus, R. platensis, R. populago, R. pusillus, R. pygmaeus, R. ranunculinus, R. recurvatus, R. repens, R. rhomboideus, R. sabinei, R. sardous, R. sceleratus, R. sulphureus, R. testiculatus, R. trilobus, R. triternatus, R. turneri, R. uncinatus
Subordinate taxa
R. glaberrimus var. ellipticus, R. glaberrimus var. glaberrimus
Synonyms Arcteranthis cooleyae, Kumlienia cooleyae
Name authority Hooker: Fl. Bor.-Amer. 1: 12. (1829) Vasey & Rose ex Rose: Contr. U.S. Natl. Herb. 1: 289. (1894)
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