Ranunculus triternatus
Ranunculus cardiophyllus
Dalles Mountain buttercup, obscure buttercup
heart-leaf buttercup, renoncule pédatifide
cylindric, 2-3 mm thick.
cylindric, 1.3-2 mm thick.
prostrate or ascending, 5-20 cm, glabrous, each with 1-6 flowers.
erect, 11-53 cm, pilose or glabrous, each with 1-5 flowers.
persistent, blades rhombic to deltate or reniform in outline, 3-4x-dissected, 1.1-3.4 × 2-3.1 cm, segments linear, base obtuse, margins crenate, apices of segments narrowly rounded.
persistent, blades ovate or elliptic, undivided or innermost 3-5-parted, 2.2-6.9 × 1.8-4.5 cm, base cordate to broadly obtuse, margins crenate with more than 5 crenae, apex rounded to broadly acute.
pedicels glabrous;
receptacle short-pubescent;
sepals 4-8 × 2-5 mm, abaxially glabrous or nearly so;
petals 5, 6-15 × 4-10 mm;
nectary scale glabrous.
pedicels pilose;
receptacle canescent;
sepals 5-8 × 3-7 mm, abaxially pilose, hairs colorless;
petals (0-)5-10, 6-13 × 4-13 mm;
nectary scale ciliate or sometimes glabrous.
depressed-globose, 4-6 × 5-8 mm;
achenes 1.8-2.2 × 1.2-1.8 mm, finely pubescent;
beak subulate, straight, 0.8-1.5 mm.
ovoid or cylindric, 5-16 × 5-9 mm;
achenes 1.8-2.2 × 1.5-2 mm, finely canescent;
beak subulate, curved or straight, 0.6-1.2 mm.
= 32.
Ranunculus triternatus
Ranunculus cardiophyllus
Of conservation concern.
C. L. Hitchcock et al. (1955-1969, vol. 2) considered the name Ranunculus triternatus A. Gray to be an illegitemate homonym and used the illegitimate (superfluous) name R. reconditus A. Nelson & J. F. Macbride for this species. The name Ranunculus triternatus Poiret was not validly published (not accepted by Poiret) and does not invalidate R. triternatus A. Gray.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Ranunculus cardiophyllus is quite variable. Through most of its range, leaves always have rounded marginal crenae and cordate or truncate bases, stems are often densely pilose (but may be sparsely pilose or glabrous), and achene beaks are curved. In plants from Arizona and New Mexico, however, leaves may have obtuse marginal crenae or broadly obtuse bases, stems are never densely pilose, and achene beaks are sometimes straight. Forms showing some or all of these charactersistics are often separated as R. cardiophyllus var. subsagittatus. The characteristics are poorly correlated, however, and taxonomic recognition is not warranted.
Most specimens of Ranunculus cardiophyllus have all of the basal leaves unlobed, but plants with the innermost basal leaf 3-5-lobed are common. A few specimens, mostly from the northern part of its range, have all of the basal leaves 5-parted or -divided. Those plants approach R. pedatifidus in their morphology, and R. cardiophyllus has sometimes been considered a variety of that species.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
OR
WA
CalFlora
Flora NW
PNW Herbaria
WildflowerSearch
iNaturalist
USDA Plants Database
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