Ranunculus repens
Ranunculus flammula
creeping buttercup, crowfoot, double flower creeping buttercup, renoncule rampante, spot-leaf crowfoot
creeping buttercup, creeping crowfoot, creeping spearwort, greater creeping spearwort, lesser spearwort, lesser water buttercup, spearwort
never tuberous.
not thickened basally, glabrous.
decumbent or creeping, rooting nodally, hispid to strigose or almost glabrous, base not bulbous.
erect to prostrate, usually rooting nodally, glabrous or sparsely strigose.
blades ovate to reniform in outline, 3-foliolate, 1-8.5 × 1.5-10 cm, leaflets lobed, parted, or parted and again lobed, ultimate segments obovate to elliptic or sometimes narrowly oblong, margins toothed, apex obtuse to acuminate.
lanceolate to oblanceolate or filiform, 0.7-6.5 × 0.04-1 cm, base acute to filiform, margins entire or serrulate, apex acute to filiform.
bracts lanceolate to oblanceolate.
receptacle hispid or rarely glabrous;
sepals spreading or reflexed from base, 4-7(-10) × 1.5-3(-4) mm, hispid or sometimes glabrous;
petals 5(-150), yellow, 6-18 × 5-12 mm.
receptacle glabrous;
sepals 5, spreading or weakly reflexed, 1.5-4 × 1-2 mm, glabrous or appressed-hispid;
petals 5-6, 2.5-7 × 1-4 mm;
nectary scales glabrous.
globose or ovoid, 5-10 × 5-8 mm;
achenes 2.6-3.2 × 2-2.8 mm, glabrous, margin forming narrow rib 0.1-0.2 mm wide;
beak persistent, lanceolate to lance-filiform, curved, 0.8-1.2 mm.
globose or hemispheric, 2-4 × 3-4 mm;
achenes 1.2-1.6 × 1-1.4 mm, glabrous;
beak lanceolate to linear, straight or curved, 0.1-0.6 mm.
= 14, 32.
Ranunculus repens
Ranunculus flammula
Ranunculus repens is widely naturalized in many parts of the world. Plants with sparse pubescence have been called R. repens var. glabratus. Horticultural forms with the outer stamens transformed into numerous extra petals occasionally become established and have been called R. repens var. pleniflorus. These variants have no taxonomic significance.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Varieties 3 (3 in the flora).
In Eurasia, this taxon is usually treated as two closely related species. Ranunculus flammula in the strict sense has relatively stout (0.8-3 mm thick) stems that are erect or ascending from prostrate bases, lanceolate to oblanceolate leaves 3-10 mm broad, sepals 3-4 mm, and petals 5-7 × 3-4 mm. Ranunculus reptans has slender (0.2-1 mm thick) stems that are usually prostrate except for the pedicels, leaves linear or filiform, to 2 mm broad, sepals 1-2 mm, and petals 3-5 × 1-2.5 mm. In North America, this distinction holds up relatively well east of the Great Plains, where plants with the characteristics of R. flammula in the strict sense are found in eastern Canada (Newfoundland and northern Nova Scotia) while plants with the characteristics of R. reptans are widespread. In the western part of the continent, however, the situation is much less clear. Collections from the Great Plains and Rocky Mountains resemble R. reptans in most characters, but they often have broader leaves (up to 5 mm broad). Plants from farther west are very confusing; specimens showing the typical morphology of R. flammula in the strict sense and R. reptans are found over a wide area, but most specimens from this area combine the characteristics of the two taxa in various ways. For this reason, it is not possible to separate these taxa at the species level. Three varieties are usually recognized, but further study will probably alter the varietal classification (see comments below, under R. flammula var. ovalis).
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
1. Stems erect to prostrate; sepals 3–4 mm; petals 5–7 × 3–4 mm. | var. flammula |
1. Stems prostrate or sometimes ascending; sepals 1–3 mm; petals 3–5 × 1–3 mm. | → 2 |
2. Leaf blades 0.2–0.8 cm wide. | var. ovalis |
2. Leaf blades 0.04–0.1 cm wide. | var. reptans |
- Local floras:
BC, 
CA, 
OR, 
WA - Local Web sites: CalFlora, CalPhotos,
Flora NW, 
Go Botany, 
IL Wildflowers, 
MD Biodiversity, 
MI Flora, 
MN Wildflowers, 
MO Plants, 
PNW Herbaria, Turner Photog. 
WildflowerSearch
iNaturalist (observations)
USDA Plants Database- LBJ Wildflower Center
- SEINet
- Plants of the World Online
- Encyclopedia of Life
- Wikipedia
- Google Image Search
- Local floras: BC, CA, OR, WA
- Local Web sites: CalFlora, CalPhotos, Flora NW, Go Botany, MI Flora, MN Wildflowers, PNW Herbaria, Turner Photog.
- WildflowerSearch
- iNaturalist (observations)
- USDA Plants Database
- LBJ Wildflower Center
- SEINet
- Plants of the World Online
- Encyclopedia of Life
- Wikipedia
- Google Image Search
