Ranunculus glaberrimus |
Ranunculus trilobus |
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sagebrush buttercup, smooth buttercup |
threelobe buttercup |
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Roots | cylindric, 1-3 mm thick. |
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Stems | prostrate or ascending, 4-15 cm, glabrous, each with 1-4 flowers. |
erect or reclining, hispid or sometimes glabrous. |
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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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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. |
pedicellate; receptacle hispid; sepals 5, reflexed, 3-4 × 2 mm, sparsely hispid; petals 5, 4-5 × 2-3 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, 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. |
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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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Ranunculus glaberrimus |
Ranunculus trilobus |
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Phenology | Flowering spring (Apr). | |||||
Habitat | Fields and roadsides | |||||
Elevation | 0-100 m (0-300 ft) | |||||
Distribution |
AZ; CA; CO; ID; MT; ND; NE; NM; NV; OR; SD; UT; WA; WY; AB; BC; SK
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AL; FL; LA; SC; TX; native to Europe [Introduced in North America] |
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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.) |
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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. Echinella | ||||
Sibling taxa | ||||||
Subordinate taxa | ||||||
Name authority | Hooker: Fl. Bor.-Amer. 1: 12. (1829) | Desfontaines: Fl. Atlant. 1: 437. (1799) | ||||
Web links |
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