Ranunculus occidentalis |
Ranunculus fascicularis |
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western buttercup |
early buttercup, early crowfoot, prairie buttercup, tuft buttercup |
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Roots | never tuberous. |
always both filiform and tuberous on same stem. |
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Stems | erect to reclining, not rooting nodally, hirsute or sometimes pilose or glabrous, base not bulbous. |
erect or ascending, never rooting nodally, strigose or spreading-strigose, base not bulbous. |
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Basal leaf blades | broadly ovate to semicircular or reniform in outline, 3-parted or -foliolate, 1.5-5.3 × 2.2-8 cm, segments usually again 1(-2)×-lobed, ultimate segments oblong or elliptic to lanceolate or oblanceolate, margins dentate (sometimes dentate-lobulate or entire), apex acute to rounded-obtuse. |
ovate to broadly ovate in outline, 3-5-foliolate, 2.1-4.7 × 1.9-4.5 cm, leaflets undivided or 1x-lobed or -parted, ultimate segments oblanceolate or obovate, margins entire or with few teeth, apex rounded-acute to rounded-obtuse. |
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Flowers | receptacle glabrous; sepals reflexed 2-3 mm above base, 4-7(-9) × 2-4 mm, hirsute; petals 5-14, yellow, 5-13 × 1.5-8 mm. |
receptacle hispid or glabrous; sepals spreading or sometimes reflexed from base, 5-7 × 2-3 mm, hispid or glabrous; petals 5(-7), yellow, 8-14 × 3-6 mm. |
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Heads of achenes | hemispheric, 3-7 × 5-9 mm; achenes 2.6-3.6(-4.8) × 1.8-3(-3.2) mm, glabrous, rarely hispid, margin forming narrow rib 0.1-0.2 mm wide; beak persistent, lanceolate to lance-subulate, straight or curved, 0.4-2.2 mm. |
globose or ovoid, 5-9 × 5-8 mm; achenes 2-2.8 × 1.8-2.2 mm, glabrous, margin forming narrow rib 0.1-0.2 mm wide; beak persistent, filiform, straight, 1.2-2.8 mm. |
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2n | = 32. |
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Ranunculus occidentalis |
Ranunculus fascicularis |
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Phenology | Flowering winter–spring (Jan–Jun). | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Habitat | Grassland or deciduous forest | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Elevation | 0-300 m (0-1000 ft) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Distribution |
AK; CA; NV; OR; WA; AB; BC; YT
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AL; AR; CT; GA; IA; IL; IN; KS; KY; LA; MA; MD; MI; MN; MO; MS; NC; NE; NJ; NY; OH; OK; PA; RI; SC; TN; TX; VA; VT; WI; MB; ON
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Discussion | Varieties 7 The seeds of Ranunculus occidentalis were eaten by some Californian Indians. D. E. Moerman (1986) identified this taxon as an Aleut poison: juice of the flowers could be slipped into food to poison the person who ate it. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Ranunculus fascicularis is very similar to R. hispidus var. hispidus, and herbarium specimens without underground parts may be difficult to identify. Ranunculus fascicularis grows in drier habitats; segments of its leaves are commonly oblanceolate and blunt, with few or no marginal teeth; and its petals are widest at or below the middle. Ranunculus hispidus var. hispidus is usually larger in all its parts (leaves, flowers, heads of achenes); leaf segments are variable in shape but their apices are normally sharper and their marginal teeth more numerous, and petals are widest above the middle. (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. Ranunculus | Ranunculaceae > Ranunculus > subg. Ranunculus > sect. Ranunculus | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Synonyms | R. fascicularis var. apricus | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Name authority | Nuttall: in J. Torrey & A. Gray, Fl. N. Amer. 1: 22. (1838) | Muhlenberg ex J. M. Bigelow: Fl. Boston., 137. (1814) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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