Ranunculus occidentalis |
Ranunculus gelidus |
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western buttercup |
arctic buttercup, modest buttercup, wetslope buttercup |
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Roots | never tuberous. |
slender, 0.5-1 mm thick. |
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Stems | erect to reclining, not rooting nodally, hirsute or sometimes pilose or glabrous, base not bulbous. |
erect or decumbent from short caudices, 3-22 cm, glabrous, each with 1-5 flowers. |
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Basal leaves | persistent, blades cordate or reniform, 3-parted, 0.5-1.8 × 0.8-3 cm, segments again lobed, base truncate or nearly cordate, apices of segments rounded. |
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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. |
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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. |
pedicels pubescent or glabrous; receptacle glabrous or pubescent; sepals 3-5 × 1-4 mm, pubescent or glabrous; petals 5, 3-6 × 1-5 mm; nectary scale glabrous. |
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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. |
cylindric to ovoid-cylindric, 4-13 × 4-6 mm; achenes 1.2-2.4 × 0.8-2 mm, glabrous; beak subulate, curved or hooked, 0.4-0.8 mm. |
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2n | = 16. |
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Ranunculus occidentalis |
Ranunculus gelidus |
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Phenology | Flowering late spring–summer (Jun–Aug). | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Habitat | Open arctic and alpine slopes | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Elevation | 0-4000 m (0-13100 ft) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Distribution |
AK; CA; NV; OR; WA; AB; BC; YT
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AK; CO; ID; MT; OR; UT; WA; WY; AB; BC; NT; YT; Asia
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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.) |
Plants with small achenes are often separated as Ranunculus verecundus. Achene size varies continuously over the range given, however, and it is not correlated with the minor shape difference mentioned by L. D. Benson (1948). (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. Epirotes | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Subordinate taxa | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Synonyms | R. gelidus subsp. grayi, R. grayi, R. verecundus | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Name authority | Nuttall: in J. Torrey & A. Gray, Fl. N. Amer. 1: 22. (1838) | Karelin & Kirilov: Bull. Soc. Imp. Naturalistes Moscou 15: 133. (1842) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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