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Bloomer's buttercup, straight-beak buttercup, swamp buttercup

Eschscholtz's buttercup, snow buttercup, subalpine buttercup

Roots

sometimes fleshy and ± tuberous.

slender, 0.4-1.6 mm thick.

Stems

nearly erect or decumbent, never rooting nodally, hispid, strigose, or glabrous, base not bulbous.

erect or decumbent from short or long caudices, 4-27 cm, glabrous, each with 1-3 flowers.

Basal leaves

blades narrowly ovate to oblong or semicircular in outline, simple to 3-5-lobed or -foliolate, 2.8-12.5 × 2.5-14 cm, leaflets or segments undivided or 1-2x-lobed or -parted, ultimate segments circular to linear, margins dentate, crenate, or entire, apex rounded to narrowly acute.

persistent, blades reniform or cordate to obovate or broadly oblong, lobed or 3-parted, 0.5-4.1 × 0.8-3.7 cm, segments again 1(-2)×-lobed, base obtuse to cordate, apices of segments rounded in outline.

Flowers

receptacle hispid;

sepals reflexed 1-2 mm above base, 5-11 × 2-4 mm, hispid, hirsute, or glabrous;

petals 5-6, abaxially yellow or red, adaxially yellow, 8-18 × 4-11 mm.

pedicels glabrous;

receptacle glabrous or sparsely pilose;

sepals 4-8 × 2-6 mm, abaxially glabrous or pilose;

petals 5-8, 6-16 × 4-16 mm;

nectary scale glabrous.

Heads of achenes

hemispheric to ovoid, 5-13 × 6-10 mm;

achenes 2.8-4.5 × 1.8-3.2 mm, glabrous, margin forming narrow rib 0.1-0.2 mm wide;

beak persistent, narrowly lanceolate to subulate, straight, 1.8-3.8(-4.8) mm.

cylindric or ovoid, 5-10 × 4-7 mm;

achenes 1.4-2 × 1-1.6 mm, glabrous or sparsely pubescent;

beak lanceolate or subulate, straight (sometimes curved when immature), 0.6-1.8 mm.

Ranunculus orthorhynchus

Ranunculus eschscholtzii

Distribution
from FNA
AK; CA; ID; MT; NV; OR; UT; WA; WY; BC
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AK; AZ; CA; CO; ID; MT; NM; NV; OR; UT; WA; WY; AB; BC; NT; YT
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Varieties 3

The first two varieties (Ranunculus orthorhynchus var. orthorhynchus and R. orthorhynchus var. platyphyllus) are rather weak, intergrading extensively in California and Oregon. By contrast, R. orthorhynchus var. bloomeri often grows with the others with little or no intergradation (although intermediate populations are found in some areas), and it has been treated as a distinct species, R. bloomeri, by many taxonomists.

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

Varieties 6 (5 in the flora).

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

Key
1. Basal leaves simple or 3-foliolate, if compound then leaflets undivided, margins crenate; petals retuse.
var. bloomeri
1. Basal leaves 3–5-foliolate, leaflets lobed or parted, margins entire or dentate; petals truncate or rounded.
→ 2
2. Heads of achenes hemispheric or sometimes globose, 5–7 mm; petals often abaxially red.
var. orthorhynchus
2. Heads of achenes globose or ovoid, 8–13 mm; petals yellow.
var. platyphyllus
1. Ultimate segments and sinuses of basal leaves acute or acuminate.
→ 2
1. Ultimate segments and sinuses of basal leaves rounded or obtuse (sometimes broadly rounded-acute).
→ 3
2. Leaf blade reniform, base truncate or cordate.
var. suksdorfii
2. Leaf blade obovate to broadly oblong, base obtuse or rounded.
var. eximius
3. Middle segments of many basal leaves lobed and toothed or 2×-lobed.
var. trisectus
3. Middle segments of basal leaves unlobed or 1×-lobed.
→ 4
4. Caudices with few or no persistent leaf bases; basal leaves always 3-parted; widespread in w North America.
var. eschscholtzii
4. Caudices densely clothed with persistent leaf bases; basal leaves sometimes parted but usually merely lobed; California and w Nevada.
var. oxynotus
Source FNA vol. 3. FNA vol. 3.
Parent taxa Ranunculaceae > Ranunculus > subg. Ranunculus > sect. Ranunculus Ranunculaceae > Ranunculus > subg. Ranunculus > sect. Epirotes
Sibling taxa
R. abortivus, R. acriformis, R. acris, R. adoneus, R. alismifolius, R. allegheniensis, R. allenii, R. ambigens, R. andersonii, R. aquatilis, R. arizonicus, R. arvensis, R. auricomus, R. austro-oreganus, R. bonariensis, R. bulbosus, R. californicus, R. canus, R. cardiophyllus, R. cooleyae, R. cymbalaria, R. eschscholtzii, R. fascicularis, R. fasciculatus, R. ficaria, R. flabellaris, R. flammula, R. gelidus, R. glaberrimus, R. glacialis, R. gmelinii, R. gormanii, R. harveyi, R. hebecarpus, R. hederaceus, R. hispidus, R. hydrocharoides, R. hyperboreus, R. hystriculus, R. inamoenus, R. jovis, R. kamtschaticus, R. lapponicus, R. laxicaulis, R. lobbii, R. macauleyi, R. macounii, R. macranthus, R. marginatus, R. micranthus, R. muricatus, R. nivalis, R. occidentalis, R. oresterus, R. pacificus, R. pallasii, R. parviflorus, R. pedatifidus, R. pensylvanicus, R. platensis, R. populago, R. pusillus, R. pygmaeus, R. ranunculinus, R. recurvatus, R. repens, R. rhomboideus, R. sabinei, R. sardous, R. sceleratus, R. sulphureus, R. testiculatus, R. trilobus, R. triternatus, R. turneri, R. uncinatus
R. abortivus, R. acriformis, R. acris, R. adoneus, R. alismifolius, R. allegheniensis, R. allenii, R. ambigens, R. andersonii, R. aquatilis, R. arizonicus, R. arvensis, R. auricomus, R. austro-oreganus, R. bonariensis, R. bulbosus, R. californicus, R. canus, R. cardiophyllus, R. cooleyae, R. cymbalaria, R. fascicularis, R. fasciculatus, R. ficaria, R. flabellaris, R. flammula, R. gelidus, R. glaberrimus, R. glacialis, R. gmelinii, R. gormanii, R. harveyi, R. hebecarpus, R. hederaceus, R. hispidus, R. hydrocharoides, R. hyperboreus, R. hystriculus, R. inamoenus, R. jovis, R. kamtschaticus, R. lapponicus, R. laxicaulis, R. lobbii, R. macauleyi, R. macounii, R. macranthus, R. marginatus, R. micranthus, R. muricatus, R. nivalis, R. occidentalis, R. oresterus, R. orthorhynchus, R. pacificus, R. pallasii, R. parviflorus, R. pedatifidus, R. pensylvanicus, R. platensis, R. populago, R. pusillus, R. pygmaeus, R. ranunculinus, R. recurvatus, R. repens, R. rhomboideus, R. sabinei, R. sardous, R. sceleratus, R. sulphureus, R. testiculatus, R. trilobus, R. triternatus, R. turneri, R. uncinatus
Subordinate taxa
R. orthorhynchus var. bloomeri, R. orthorhynchus var. orthorhynchus, R. orthorhynchus var. platyphyllus
R. eschscholtzii var. eschscholtzii, R. eschscholtzii var. eximius, R. eschscholtzii var. oxynotus, R. eschscholtzii var. suksdorfii, R. eschscholtzii var. trisectus
Name authority Hooker: Fl. Bor.-Amer. 1: 21. (1829) Schlechtendal: Animadv. Bot. Ranunc. Cand. 2: 16. (1820)
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