Taxonomy
Family: Ranunculaceae
Habitat
Swamps, rich fens, marches, shores, thickets.
Associates
Distribution
Nova Scotia and southern Quebec to southeastern Saskatchewan, south to NJ, northern VA, IL, and MO.
Morphology
Herbaceous perennial. Basal and cauline leaves similar, as wide or wider than long; basal leaves larger, mostly 3-lobed, the lobes acute or acuminate. Flowers waxy-yellow; petals 5-8; sepals reflexed; style elongate, slender, nearly straight. Mature receptacle ellipsoid or clavate. Fruit a smooth, flattened, achene with raised lateral nerves bordering the narrow margin.
Notes
Flowers late March to mid June
Wetland indicator: FAC
More northern than R. hispidus var. hispidus or R. septentrionalis, this is the common swamp buttercup in central NY. Ranunculus septerntrionalis is sometimes treated as a variety of R. hispidus. A key to the differences among the three taxa is provided below.
1 Sepals reflexed from a fold about 1 mm above the base; achene margin 0.4-1.2 mm wide; stems decumbent, often rooting at the nodes...................................R. septentrionalis
1 Sepals spreading or rarely reflexed from the base; achene margin 0.1-0.2 wide; stems erect or decumbent, sometimes rooting at the nodes..............................R. hispidus
2 Stems mostly erect, not rooting at the nodes; petals typically less than 1 cm long; plants of mesic to dry-mesic soils..........................................................R. hispidus var. hispidus
2 Stems decumbent, sometimes rooting at the nodes; petals often more than 1 cm long; plants of moist to wet soils.............................................................R. hispidus var. caricetorum
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
USDA, NRCS. 2002.
The PLANTS Database, Version 3.5 (http://plants.usda.gov).
National Plant Data Center, Baton Rouge, LA 70874-4490 USA.
Michael Hough © 2014 |