Ranunculus occidentalis |
Ranunculus occidentalis var. dissectus |
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western buttercup |
western buttercup |
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Roots | never tuberous. |
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Stems | erect to reclining, not rooting nodally, hirsute or sometimes pilose or glabrous, base not bulbous. |
erect to spreading, 1-3 mm thick, hirsute or sometimes glabrous. |
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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. |
3-parted or sometimes 3-foliolate, ultimate segments lanceolate or oblanceolate, margins entire or sparsely dentate. |
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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. |
sepals 5, 4-6 mm; petals 5-6, 6-10 × 3-6 mm. |
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Achenes | 2.6-3.6 × 2-2.8 mm, glabrous; beak lance-subulate, straight, 1.2-2.2 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. |
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Ranunculus occidentalis |
Ranunculus occidentalis var. dissectus |
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Phenology | Flowering spring–summer (May–Jul). | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Habitat | Wet to dry meadows | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Elevation | 1000-1800 m (3300-5900 ft) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Distribution |
AK; CA; NV; OR; WA; AB; BC; YT
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CA; OR |
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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 occidentalis var. dissectus is found in the Great Basin, Klamath region, and southern Cascade Mountains. As noted below, it is very similar to var. howellii. (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 > Ranunculus occidentalis | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Name authority | Nuttall: in J. Torrey & A. Gray, Fl. N. Amer. 1: 22. (1838) | L. F. Henderson: Rhodora 32: 25. (1930) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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