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

hairy buttercup, hairy crowfoot

dwarf buttercup, pygmy buttercup

Roots

slender, 0.1-0.6 mm thick.

Stems

nearly erect, hispid, base not bulbous.

erect or ascending from short caudices, 0.6-3.5 cm (sometimes longer in fruit), each with 1-2 flowers.

Basal leaves

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.

Flowers

pedicellate;

receptacle pilose;

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

petals 5, 7-10 × 4-8 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.

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.

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.

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.

2n

= 16.

Ranunculus sardous

Ranunculus pygmaeus

Phenology Flowering late winter–summer (Mar–Aug). Flowering summer (Jul–Sep).
Habitat Roadsides, fields, open woods Arctic and alpine meadows and slopes, usually around persistent snow patches
Elevation 0-200 m (0-700 ft) 0-4000 m (0-13100 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; CO; ID; MT; UT; WY; AB; BC; NF; NT; QC; YT; Greenland; Europe (Spitsbergen)
[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.)

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.)

Source FNA vol. 3. FNA vol. 3.
Parent taxa Ranunculaceae > Ranunculus > subg. Ranunculus > sect. Echinella Ranunculaceae > Ranunculus > subg. Ranunculus > sect. Epirotes
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. occidentalis, R. oresterus, R. orthorhynchus, R. pacificus, R. pallasii, R. parviflorus, R. pedatifidus, R. pensylvanicus, R. platensis, R. populago, R. pusillus, 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. parvulus R. pygmaeus var. langeana
Name authority Crantz: Stirp. Austr. Fasc. 2: 84. (1763) Wahlenberg: Fl. Lapp., 157. (1812)
Web links