The green links below add additional plants to the comparison table. Blue links lead to other Web sites.
enable glossary links

Pallas' buttercup, renoncule de Pallas

low buttercup, low spearwort, weak buttercup

Roots

not thickened basally, glabrous.

Stems

creeping or floating, rooting nodally, glabrous, not bulbous-based.

erect or ascending, rooting at most proximal nodes, glabrous.

Basal leaf blades

linear to obovate, undivided or 3-lobed, 1.5-3.6 × 0.3-2 cm, lobes lanceolate or elliptic, margins entire, apex rounded to acuminate.

Proximal cauline leaf blades

ovate or lanceolate, 1.2-4.2 × 0.5-1.2 cm, base acute to truncate, margins entire or denticulate, apex acuminate to rounded.

Inflorescences

bracts linear to lanceolate or oblanceolate.

Flowers

receptacle glabrous;

sepals spreading, 6-10 × 4-7 mm, glabrous;

petals 7-11, white or pink, 8-13 × 3-6 mm.

receptacle glabrous;

sepals 4-5, spreading or reflexed from base, 1.5-3 × 1-1.5 mm, glabrous or sparsely hirsute;

petals 1-3, 1.5-2 × 0.5-1 mm;

nectary scales glabrous.

Heads of achenes

globose or hemispheric, 5-12 × 9-15 mm;

achenes 4.2-5.2 × 2.4-3.2 mm, glabrous;

beak persistent, lanceolate, straight or curved, 1-1.2 mm.

hemispheric to cylindric, 2-8 × 2-3 mm;

achenes 1-1.2 × 0.6-0.8 mm, ± tuberculate, glabrous;

beak absent or nearly so, to 0.1 mm.

Tuberous

roots absent.

2n

= 32.

Ranunculus pallasii

Ranunculus pusillus

Phenology Flowering summer (Jul–Aug). Flowering spring (Apr–Jun).
Habitat Shallow water of bogs and pools in muskeg and tundra Ditches, ponds, and swamps
Elevation 0-700 m (0-2300 ft) 0-300 m (0-1000 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
AK; MB; NF; NT; ON; QC; YT; Eurasia
from FNA
AL; AR; CA; DC; DE; FL; GA; IL; IN; KY; LA; MD; MO; MS; NC; NJ; NY; OH; OK; PA; SC; TN; TX; VA; WV
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

In most specimens of Ranunculus pusillus, the heads of achenes are hemispheric to short-ovate and only 2-3 mm. Occasional plants with cylindric heads of achenes 4-6 mm from the Gulf Coast states have been called R. pusillus var. angustifolius.

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

Source FNA vol. 3. FNA vol. 3.
Parent taxa Ranunculaceae > Ranunculus > subg. Pallasiantha Ranunculaceae > Ranunculus > subg. Ranunculus > sect. Flammula
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. orthorhynchus, R. pacificus, 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. 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. orthorhynchus, R. pacificus, R. pallasii, R. parviflorus, R. pedatifidus, R. pensylvanicus, R. platensis, R. populago, 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
Synonyms R. oblongifolius, R. pusillus var. angustifolius, R. tener
Name authority Schlechtendal: Animadv. Bot. Ranunc. Cand. 1: 15. (1819) Poiret: in J. Lamarck et al., Encycl. 6: 99. (1804)
Web links