Flora of North America species comparison

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Ranunculus occidentalis var. brevistylis

Ranunculus occidentalis var. howellii
Photo is of parent taxon

western buttercup
Photo is of parent taxon

western buttercup
Stems

erect to reclining, 2-3 mm thick, pilose or glabrous.

erect to reclining, 1-3 mm thick, hirsute or sometimes glabrous.
Basal leaf blades

3-parted, ultimate segments elliptic or narrowly elliptic, margins dentate.

3-parted, ultimate segments narrowly elliptic, margins entire or dentate.
Flowers

sepals 5, 5-7 mm;

petals 5-6, 8-12 × 3-8 mm.

sepals 5, 4-6 mm;

petals 5-6, 6-10 × 3-5 mm.
Achenes

3-3.4 × 2.6-3 mm, glabrous;

beak lanceolate, curved, 1.2-1.4 mm.

3.4-4.8 × 2.6-3.2 mm, glabrous;

beak lanceolate, straight, 1.6-2.2 mm.
2n

= 28.

Ranunculus occidentalis var. brevistylis

Ranunculus occidentalis var. howellii
Phenology Flowering spring–summer (May–Aug). Flowering spring–summer (Apr–Jul).
Habitat Coastal and mountain meadows Meadows
Elevation 0-1000 m (0-3300 ft) 900-1400 m (3000-4600 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
AK; AB; BC; YT
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
CA; OR
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Ranunculus occidentalis var. brevistylis may be difficult to distinguish from var. occidentalis; the two have sometimes been combined. The pubescence character distinguishing them is well correlated with geography, however, so I am provisionally maintaining both of them.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Ranunculus occidentalis var. howellii, R. occidentalis var. dissectus, and R. austro-oreganus form a distinctive group distinguishable in the R. occidentalis complex by the straight achene beak. They may be difficult to separate, however; further study of their relationships is needed.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 3. FNA vol. 3.
Parent taxa Ranunculaceae > Ranunculus > subg. Ranunculus > sect. Ranunculus > Ranunculus occidentalis Ranunculaceae > Ranunculus > subg. Ranunculus > sect. Ranunculus > Ranunculus occidentalis
Sibling taxa
R. occidentalis var. dissectus, R. occidentalis var. hexasepalus, R. occidentalis var. howellii, R. occidentalis var. nelsonii, R. occidentalis var. occidentalis, R. occidentalis var. ultramontanus
R. occidentalis var. brevistylis, R. occidentalis var. dissectus, R. occidentalis var. hexasepalus, R. occidentalis var. nelsonii, R. occidentalis var. occidentalis, R. occidentalis var. ultramontanus
Synonyms R. occidentalis subsp. insularis
Name authority Greene: Pittonia 3: 14. (1896) Greene: Pittonia 3: 14. (1896)
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



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