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hairy buttercup, hairy crowfoot

western buttercup

Roots

never tuberous.

Stems

nearly erect, hispid, base not bulbous.

erect to reclining, not rooting nodally, hirsute or sometimes pilose or glabrous, base not bulbous.

Basal leaf

blades broadly ovate to semicircular or reniform in outline, 3-parted or -foliolate, 1.5-5.3 × 2.2-8 cm, segments usually again 1(-2)×-lobed, ultimate segments oblong or elliptic to lanceolate or oblanceolate, margins dentate (sometimes dentate-lobulate or entire), apex acute to rounded-obtuse.

Flowers

pedicellate;

receptacle pilose;

sepals 5, reflexed, 3-8 × 1.5-3 mm, pilose;

petals 5, 7-10 × 4-8 mm.

receptacle glabrous;

sepals reflexed 2-3 mm above base, 4-7(-9) × 2-4 mm, hirsute;

petals 5-14, yellow, 5-13 × 1.5-8 mm.

Heads of achenes

globose or ovoid, 5-8 × 6-7 mm;

achenes 15-35 per head, 2-3 × 2-3 mm, faces sparsely papillate or sometimes smooth, glabrous, margin smooth;

beak oblong to deltate, curved, 0.4-0.7 mm.

hemispheric, 3-7 × 5-9 mm;

achenes 2.6-3.6(-4.8) × 1.8-3(-3.2) mm, glabrous, rarely hispid, margin forming narrow rib 0.1-0.2 mm wide;

beak persistent, lanceolate to lance-subulate, straight or curved, 0.4-2.2 mm.

Basal

and lower cauline leaf blades ovate to cordate, 3-foliolate, 2-6 × 2-6 cm, leaflets again parted, leaflet base truncate to acute, margins crenate-dentate to crenate-lobulate, apex rounded to obtuse.

Ranunculus sardous

Ranunculus occidentalis

Phenology Flowering late winter–summer (Mar–Aug).
Habitat Roadsides, fields, open woods
Elevation 0-200 m (0-700 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
AL; AR; CA; FL; GA; IL; KS; KY; LA; MD; MO; MS; NC; NJ; NY; OK; OR; PA; RI; SC; TN; TX; VA; BC; native to Europe; Pacific Islands; Australia [Introduced in North America]
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AK; CA; NV; OR; WA; AB; BC; YT
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Ranunculus sardous was collected in New Brunswick and Ontario in the 1800s, but it apparently has not persisted in those provinces.

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

Varieties 7

The seeds of Ranunculus occidentalis were eaten by some Californian Indians. D. E. Moerman (1986) identified this taxon as an Aleut poison: juice of the flowers could be slipped into food to poison the person who ate it.

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

Key
1. Petals 8-14; Queen Charlotte Islands, B.C.
var. hexasepalus
1. Petals 5-6; widespread.
→ 2
2. Stem 4-8 mm thick; beak of achene 1.8-2.4 mm, curved; coastal Alaska.
var. nelsonii
2. Stem 1-3(-4) mm thick; beak of achene either 0.4-1.4 mm and curved, or 1.2-2.2 mm and straight; widespread.
→ 3
3. Beak of achene straight, 1.2-2.2 mm; Oregon and northernmost California.
→ 4
3. Beak of achene curved, 0.4-1.4 mm; widespread.
→ 5
4. Ultimate segments of leaves lanceolate to oblanceolate.
var. dissectus
4. Ultimate segments of leaves elliptic.
var. howellii
5. Petals 1.5-2.5 mm wide; beak of achene 0.4-1.2 mm; stems ± reclining; Sierra Nevada, above 1000m.
var. ultramontanus
5. Petals 3-8 mm wide; beak of achene (0.6-)1-1.4 mm; stems erect or reclining; widespread.
→ 6
6. Stems pilose or glabrous; Alaska to c British Columbia and Alberta.
var. brevistylis
6. Stems hirsute, sometimes glabrous; California to sw British Columbia.
var. occidentalis
Source FNA vol. 3. FNA vol. 3.
Parent taxa Ranunculaceae > Ranunculus > subg. Ranunculus > sect. Echinella Ranunculaceae > Ranunculus > subg. Ranunculus > sect. Ranunculus
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. 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. 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. 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. occidentalis var. brevistylis, R. occidentalis var. dissectus, R. occidentalis var. hexasepalus, R. occidentalis var. howellii, R. occidentalis var. nelsonii, R. occidentalis var. occidentalis, R. occidentalis var. ultramontanus
Synonyms R. parvulus
Name authority Crantz: Stirp. Austr. Fasc. 2: 84. (1763) Nuttall: in J. Torrey & A. Gray, Fl. N. Amer. 1: 22. (1838)
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