Ranunculus orthorhynchus |
Ranunculus pygmaeus |
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Bloomer's buttercup, straight-beak buttercup, swamp buttercup |
dwarf buttercup, pygmy buttercup |
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Roots | sometimes fleshy and ± tuberous. |
slender, 0.1-0.6 mm thick. |
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Stems | nearly erect or decumbent, never rooting nodally, hispid, strigose, or glabrous, base not bulbous. |
erect or ascending from short caudices, 0.6-3.5 cm (sometimes longer in fruit), each with 1-2 flowers. |
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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 to transversely elliptic or semicircular, 3-parted or -divided, 0.45-0.9 × 0.6-1.3 cm, at least lateral segments again lobed, base truncate or nearly cordate, margins entire, apex rounded to obtuse. |
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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 or pubescent; receptacle glabrous; sepals 2-4 × 1.2-1.6 mm, abaxially sparsely hairy, hairs colorless; petals 5, 1.2-3.5 × 1.1-2.8 mm; nectary scale glabrous. |
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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. |
nearly globose to cylindric, 2.5-7 × 2.5-5 mm; achenes 1-1.2 × 0.8-1.1 mm, glabrous; beak subulate, straight or curved, 0.3-0.7 mm. |
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2n | = 16. |
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Ranunculus orthorhynchus |
Ranunculus pygmaeus |
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Phenology | Flowering summer (Jul–Sep). | |||||||||
Habitat | Arctic and alpine meadows and slopes, usually around persistent snow patches | |||||||||
Elevation | 0-4000 m (0-13100 ft) | |||||||||
Distribution |
AK; CA; ID; MT; NV; OR; UT; WA; WY; BC
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AK; CO; ID; MT; UT; WY; AB; BC; NF; NT; QC; YT; Greenland; Europe (Spitsbergen)
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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.) |
Ranunculus pygmaeus var. langeana has been described as having deeply divided basal leaves and strongly elongate heads of achenes (at least 5 mm). These characteristics are not well correlated with one another, however, and the variety does not seem natural. (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 | ||||||||
Sibling taxa | ||||||||||
Subordinate taxa | ||||||||||
Synonyms | R. pygmaeus var. langeana | |||||||||
Name authority | Hooker: Fl. Bor.-Amer. 1: 21. (1829) | Wahlenberg: Fl. Lapp., 157. (1812) | ||||||||
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