Ranunculus pusillus |
Ranunculus sceleratus |
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low buttercup, low spearwort, weak buttercup |
blister buttercup, celery-leaf buttercup, celery-leaf crowfoot, cursed buttercup, cursed crowfoot, cursed crowsfoot, renoncule scélérate |
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Roots | not thickened basally, glabrous. |
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Stems | erect or ascending, rooting at most proximal nodes, glabrous. |
erect, glabrous, rooting at base, only very rarely rooting at proximal nodes. |
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Leaves | basal and cauline, basal and proximal cauline leaf blades reniform to semicircular in outline, 3-lobed or -parted, 1-5 × 1.6-6.8 cm, base truncate to cordate, segments usually again lobed or parted, sometimes undivided, margins crenate or crenate-lobulate, apex rounded or occasionally obtuse. |
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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. |
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Inflorescences | bracts linear to lanceolate or oblanceolate. |
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Flowers | 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. |
receptacle pubescent or glabrous; sepals 3-5, reflexed from or near base, 2-5 × 1-3 mm, glabrous or sparsely hirsute; petals 3-5, 2-5 × 1-3 mm; nectary on petal surface, scale poorly developed and forming crescent-shaped or circular ridge surrounding but not covering nectary; style absent. |
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Heads of achenes | 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. |
ellipsoid or cylindric heads, 5-13 × 3-7 mm; achenes 1-1.2 × 0.8-1 mm, glabrous; beak deltate, usually straight, 0.1 mm. |
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Ranunculus pusillus |
Ranunculus sceleratus |
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Phenology | Flowering spring (Apr–Jun). | |||||
Habitat | Ditches, ponds, and swamps | |||||
Elevation | 0-300 m (0-1000 ft) | |||||
Distribution |
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
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AK; AL; AR; AZ; CA; CO; CT; DC; DE; FL; GA; IA; ID; IL; IN; KS; KY; LA; MA; MD; ME; MI; MN; MO; MS; MT; NC; ND; NE; NH; NJ; NM; NV; NY; OH; OK; OR; PA; RI; SC; SD; TN; TX; UT; VA; VT; WA; WI; WV; WY; AB; BC; MB; NB; NF; NS; NT; ON; QC; SK; YT; Eurasia
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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.) |
Varieties 2 (2 in the flora). Ranunculus sceleratus varieties were used by the Thompson Indians as a poison for their arrow points (D. E. Moerman 1986). (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. Flammula | Ranunculaceae > Ranunculus > subg. Ranunculus > sect. Hecatonia | ||||
Sibling taxa | ||||||
Subordinate taxa | ||||||
Synonyms | R. oblongifolius, R. pusillus var. angustifolius, R. tener | Hecatonia scelerata | ||||
Name authority | Poiret: in J. Lamarck et al., Encycl. 6: 99. (1804) | Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 1: 551. (1753) | ||||
Web links |
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