Ficaria verna, commonly known as lesser celandine or pilewort, is a low-growing, hairless perennial flowering plant in the buttercup family Ranunculaceae. It has fleshy dark green, heart-shaped leaves and distinctive flowers with bright yellow, glossy petals. Native to Europe and Western Asia, it is now introduced in North America, where it is known by the common name fig buttercup and considered an invasive species. The plant is poisonous if ingested raw and potentially fatal to grazing animals and livestock such as horses, cattle, and sheep. For these reasons, several US states have banned the plant or listed it as a noxious weed. It prefers bare, damp ground and is considered by horticulturalists in the United Kingdom as a persistent garden weed; nevertheless, many specialist plantsmen, nursery owners and discerning gardeners in the UK and Europe collect selected cultivars of the plant, including bronze-leaved and double-flowered ones. Emerging in late winter with flowers appearing late February through May in the UK, its appearance across the landscape is regarded by many as a harbinger of spring.
Ranunculus is a large genus of about 1750 species of flowering plants in the family Ranunculaceae. Members of the genus are known as buttercups, spearworts and water crowfoots.
Ranunculus acris is a species of flowering plant in the family Ranunculaceae, and is one of the more common buttercups across Europe and temperate Eurasia. Common names include meadow buttercup, tall buttercup, common buttercup and giant buttercup.
Ranunculus glaberrimus, the sagebrush buttercup, is a species of flowering plant in the buttercup family, Ranunculaceae. It is native to interior western North America, in western Canada, the western United States, and the northwestern Great Plains.
Kumlienia hystricula is a species of flowering plant in the buttercup family known by the common name waterfall false buttercup.
Ranunculus canus is a species of buttercup known by the common name Sacramento Valley buttercup. It is endemic to California, where it grows in the Central Valley and adjacent mountain foothills, and the Transverse Ranges just south. It grows in grassland and meadows in woodland and forest habitat. This plant can be very similar in appearance to the California buttercup, and may be difficult to distinguish from it. It is variable in form. In general the plant is a perennial herb producing erect, usually hairy stems up to 65 centimeters tall. The hairy leaves are each made up of three leaflets, leaves occurring lower on the plant with wider leaflets which may be notched to lobed, and upper leaves with narrow, toothed leaflets. The flower has up to 23 shiny yellow petals and many yellow stamens and pistils at the center. The fruit is an achene, borne in a spherical cluster of 11 or more.
Halerpestes cymbalaria is a species of buttercup known by the common names alkali buttercup and seaside buttercup. It is native to much of Eurasia and parts of North and South America, where it grows in many types of habitat, especially in moist to wet areas such as marshes, bogs, and moist spring meadows. It is a perennial herb producing several stems a few centimeters to nearly 40 centimeters long. Some are prostrate against the ground and are stolons which root in moist substrate, and some are erect. The leaves are variable in shape, the basal ones with notched or slightly divided leaf blades borne on long petioles, and any upper leaves much reduced in size. The inflorescence bears one or more flowers on erect stalks. The flower has five to eight pale yellow petals, each under a centimeter long. The protruding receptacle at the center of the flower becomes a cylindrical cluster of fruits, each of which is an achene.
Ranunculus eschscholtzii is a species of buttercup flower known by the common name Eschscholtz's buttercup.
Ranunculus gormanii is a species of buttercup known by the common name Gorman's buttercup. It is native to Oregon and northern California, where it grows in the Klamath Mountains and a section of the southern Cascade Range. It can be found in moist areas in mountain forests and meadows. It is a perennial herb producing prostrate stems which extend along the ground up to 20 centimeters in length, sometimes rooting at nodes that come in contact with wet substrate. The leaves have oval blades up to 4 centimeters wide which are borne on petioles up to 7 centimeters in length. Flowers have 5 to 7 shiny yellow petals each a few millimeters long and many stamens and pistils. The fruit is an achene borne in a spherical cluster of up to 15.
Ranunculus hydrocharoides is a species of buttercup known by the common names frogbit buttercup, or frog's-bit buttercup. It is native to western North America, including the southwestern United States and Mexico. It is also known from Guatemala. It is aquatic or semi-aquatic, growing floating in water or in wet land near water. Typical habitat includes marshes, streams, and lakes. Stems are up to 25 centimeters long, prostrate on the ground when terrestrial, or floating when aquatic. The shiny green leaves have heart-shaped or oval blades up to 3 centimeters long which are borne on petioles which may be 15 centimeters in length. Flowers have 5 to 8 shiny yellow petals a few millimeters long with many stamens and pistils at the center. The fruit is an achene borne in a spherical cluster of 9 or more.
Ranunculus lobbii is a species of buttercup known by the common name Lobb's buttercup, or Lobb's aquatic buttercup. It is native to a few areas in western North America, where it is reported from British Columbia, Oregon, and northern California. It is an aquatic plant, growing in various types of shallow-water habitat, including forest ponds and vernal pools. It is an annual herb producing submerged stems 20 to 80 centimeters long which may float at the surface. The blades of the leaves are tiny and divided into threadlike segments. If any leaves develop on stem parts which are exposed to air they are much different in morphology, developing larger, more robust leaves. Flowers have generally 5 petals which are white in color and about half a centimeter long. Many stamens and pistils fill the center of the flower. The fruit is an achene borne in a spherical cluster.
Ranunculus macounii is a species of buttercup known by the common name Macoun's buttercup. It is native to much of North America, from Alaska and northwestern Canada to Newfoundland and Labrador, and the contiguous United States except for the northeast and southeastern areas. It grows in many types of moist habitat, including marshes and wet areas woodlands and scrub. It is generally semi-aquatic, growing in or next to shallow water, or in muddy places. It is a perennial herb producing prostrate, spreading stems that root at nodes that come in contact with moist substrate, or growing erect and branching. The stems are generally hairy, but populations of hairless specimens are known. The leaves are mostly divided into three lobed, toothed leaflets which are borne on long, hairy petioles. The flowers each have five shiny yellow petals under a centimeter long around a center of many stamens and pistils. The fruit is an achene borne in a spherical cluster of 20 or more.
Ranunculus orthorhynchus is a species of buttercup known by the common name straightbeak buttercup. It is native to western North America from Alaska to California to Utah, where it grows in moist areas in many types of habitat, including meadows and marshes.
Ranunculus parviflorus is a species of buttercup known by the common name smallflower buttercup. It is native to Europe, but it is known on other areas of the world as an introduced species and sometimes a roadside weed, for example, in parts of Australia and the United States.
Ranunculus sardous is a species of buttercup known by the common name hairy buttercup. It is native to Europe and it can be found in many other areas of the world, including parts of the United States and Australia, as an introduced species and a roadside and lawn weed. It grows in many types of disturbed habitat, especially in moist areas. It is an annual or biennial herb producing a mostly erect, hairy stem up to half a meter tall. The hairy leaves are usually divided into three leaflets which are borne on petioles a few centimeters in length. The flower has usually five yellow petals each up to a centimeter long and five reflexed sepals. The fruit is an achene borne in a spherical cluster of up to 35.
Ranunculus uncinatus is a species of buttercup known by the common names woodland buttercup and little buttercup. It is native to western North America from Alaska to California to New Mexico, where it grows in wet, wooded habitat such as forest streambanks.
Ranunculus pedatifidus is a species of buttercup known by the common names surefoot buttercup, northern buttercup, and birdfoot buttercup. It has a circumpolar distribution, occurring throughout the northern latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere. There are two varieties, var. pedatifidus occurring mostly in Asia and var. affinis mostly native to North America.
Ranunculus hispidus is a species of perennial flowering plant in the buttercup family, Ranunculaceae. It is commonly known as bristly buttercup or hispid buttercup. It is a small plant native to central and eastern North America that grows to a height up to 30 cm (1 ft) and has 5-petaled yellow flowers.
Ranunculus tripartitus is a species of flowering plant in the family Ranunculaceae, which grows in pools and muddy hollows in coastal parts of Europe, North Africa and West Asia. It is rare and endangered throughout its range, and is considered to be an indicator of favourable environmental conditions.
Ranunculus adoneus, the alpine buttercup or snow buttercup, is a species of flowering plant. It is an alpine buttercup from the family Ranunculaceae. This species is mainly found in the Rocky Mountains in Colorado and Wyoming but can also be found in Idaho, northern Utah and eastern Nevada. Its typical habitat is short grass meadows near the edge of melting snow.
