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Ranunculus abortivus - (image 1 of 3)

Taxonomy

Family: Ranunculaceae

Habitat

Moist woods, floodplains. Compacted woodland soils, waste ground, areas relatively free of competition

Associates

 Distribution

Most of Canada and the U.S. except for a few western states.

Morphology

Biennial or perennial herb. Basal leaves mostly crenate but with a few that are lobed or divided, more or less cordate at the base; cauline leaves sessile or nearly so, with 3-5 divisions. Flowers yellowish, 5-merous; petals shorter than sepals.

Notes

Flowers early April to early July

Wetland indicator: Facultative Wetland -

Two varieties are recognized. The plants shown here would probably apply to var. eucyclus Fernald, which is more northern than var. abortivus and is more slender and has narrower sinuses to the basal leaves.

References

Gleason, Henry A. and A. Cronquist. 1991. Manual of Vascular Plants of Northeastern United States and Adjacent Canada. Second Ed.

The New York Botanical Garden. Bronx, NY

Swink, F. and G. Wilhelm. 1994. Plants of the Chicago Region.
Indiana Academy of Science. The Morton Arboretum. Lisle, Illinois.

USDA, NRCS. 2002. The PLANTS Database, Version 3.5 (http://plants.usda.gov).
National Plant Data Center, Baton Rouge, LA 70874-4490 USA.

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