Ranunculus glaberrimus |
Ranunculus pacificus |
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sagebrush buttercup, smooth buttercup |
Pacific buttercup |
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Roots | cylindric, 1-3 mm thick. |
never tuberous. |
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Stems | prostrate or ascending, 4-15 cm, glabrous, each with 1-4 flowers. |
erect or reclining, never rooting nodally, hispid or glabrous, base not bulbous. |
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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. |
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Basal leaf blades | broadly triangular to cordate in outline, 3-foliolate, 6-13 × 8-16 cm, leaflets lobed, margins toothed, ultimate segments elliptic to lance-elliptic or oblong, margins toothed, apex acute or obtuse. |
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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 hispid; sepals reflexed 1-2 mm above base, 6-9 × 3-4 mm, sparsely hispid; petals 5, abaxially yellow or purplish, adaxially yellow, 9-11 × 6-8 mm. |
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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. |
ovoid to globose, 9-11 × 8-11 mm; achenes 3.2-3.8 × 2-3 mm, glabrous, margin forming narrow rib 0.1-0.2 mm wide; beak persistent, lanceolate or subulate from triangular base, straight or tip weakly hooked, 1-1.8 mm. |
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Ranunculus glaberrimus |
Ranunculus pacificus |
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Phenology | Flowering summer (Jul). | |||||
Habitat | Along streams and in meadows | |||||
Elevation | 0 m (0 ft) | |||||
Distribution |
AZ; CA; CO; ID; MT; ND; NE; NM; NV; OR; SD; UT; WA; WY; AB; BC; SK
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AK |
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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.) |
Ranunculus pacificus is endemic to the Alaska panhandle. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
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Key |
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Source | FNA vol. 3. | FNA vol. 3. | ||||
Parent taxa | Ranunculaceae > Ranunculus > subg. Ranunculus > sect. Epirotes | Ranunculaceae > Ranunculus > subg. Ranunculus > sect. Ranunculus | ||||
Sibling taxa | ||||||
Subordinate taxa | ||||||
Synonyms | R. septentrionalis subsp. pacificus | |||||
Name authority | Hooker: Fl. Bor.-Amer. 1: 12. (1829) | (Hultén) L. D. Benson: Amer. Midl. Naturalist 40: 79. (1948) | ||||
Web links |
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