Ranunculus pusillus

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Ranunculus pusillus
Ranunculus pusillus NRCS-1.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Ranunculales
Family: Ranunculaceae
Genus: Ranunculus
Species:
R. pusillus
Binomial name
Ranunculus pusillus
Synonyms

Ranunculus lindheimeri
Ranunculus oblongifolius
Ranunculus tener

Ranunculus pusillus, commonly called low spearwort, [1] is a species of flowering plant in the buttercup family (Ranunculaceae). It is native to much of the eastern United States from New York to Florida and west to Texas; it is also known in California. [2] It grows in wet habitat, where it is semi-aquatic growing partially submerged or terrestrially on muddy substrates.

It is a perennial herb producing a slender decumbent to erect stem up to half a meter in length. It is generally hairless in texture. Leaves have blades which are lance-shaped to oval and borne on short petioles. The flower has one to three tiny yellow petals no more than 2 millimeters (0.079 in) long around a central receptacle with many stamens and pistils. Flowers are produced in the spring. [3] The fruit is an achene borne in a spherical cluster of 18 or more.

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<i>Ranunculus andersonii</i> Species of buttercup

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<i>Ranunculus eschscholtzii</i> Species of flowering plant

Ranunculus eschscholtzii is a species of buttercup flower known by the common name Eschscholtz's buttercup.

<i>Ranunculus flabellaris</i> Species of flowering plant

Ranunculus flabellaris is a species of flowering plant in the buttercup genus, Ranunculus, known by the common name yellow water buttercup. It is native to much of North America, including the southern half of Canada and most of the United States.

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.

<i>Ranunculus hebecarpus</i> Species of buttercup

Ranunculus hebecarpus is a species of buttercup known by the common name delicate buttercup. It is native to western North America, including several of the western United States and Baja California, where it grows in grassland, woodland, and chaparral habitat. It is an annual herb producing a slender, hairy stem a few centimeters high or up to 30 centimeters tall. The hairy leaves are borne on long petioles. Their blades are deeply lobed or divided into three leaflets, often with toothed or lobed edges. Flowers have 3 to 5 tiny yellow petals just 1 or 2 millimeters long studded on the bulbous nectary; some flowers lack petals. The plant is most easily identified in its fruiting stage, when the infructescence is a spherical cluster of several tiny disc-shaped achenes with compressed, bristly sides.

<i>Ranunculus hydrocharoides</i> Species of buttercup

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.

<i>Ranunculus macounii</i> Species of buttercup

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.

<i>Ranunculus muricatus</i> Species of buttercup

Ranunculus muricatus is a species of buttercup known by the common names rough-fruited buttercup and spinyfruit buttercup. It is native to Europe, but it can be found in many other places in the world, including parts of Africa, Australia, and the western and eastern United States, as an introduced species and agricultural and roadside weed. It grows in wet habitats, such as irrigation ditches. It is an annual or sometimes biennial herb producing a mostly hairless stem up to half a meter long which may grow erect or decumbent along the ground. The leaves have blades a few centimetres in length which are deeply divided into three lobes or split into three leaflets. They are hairless to hairy in texture, and are borne at the tips of long petioles. The flower has five shiny yellow petals under 1 centimetre (0.4 in) long around a lobed central receptacle studded with many stamens and pistils. The fruit is a spiny achene borne in a spherical cluster of 10 to 20.

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.

<i>Ranunculus parviflorus</i> Species of flowering plant

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 populago is a species of buttercup known by the common names popular buttercup and mountain buttercup. It is native to the Pacific Northwest and surrounding areas in the United States, where it grows in wet habitat, such as bogs, streambanks, and moist mountain meadows. It is a perennial herb producing an upright, mostly hairless stem up to about 30 centimeters in maximum height. Leaves have oval blades borne on long petioles. The flower has usually five or six shiny yellow petals each a few millimeters long around a central nectary and many stamens and pistils. The fruit is an achene borne in a spherical cluster.

<i>Ranunculus sardous</i> Species of buttercup

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.

<i>Ranunculus uncinatus</i> Species of buttercup

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.

<i>Ranunculus abortivus</i> Species of flowering plant

Ranunculus abortivus is a species of flowering plant in the buttercup family, Ranunculaceae. Its common names include littleleaf buttercup, small-flower crowfoot, small-flowered buttercup, and kidneyleaf buttercup. It is widespread across much of North America, found in all ten Canadian provinces as well as Yukon and the Northwest Territories, and most of the United States, except Hawaii, Oregon, California, and parts of the Southwest.

References

  1. USDA, NRCS (n.d.). "Ranunculus pusillus". The PLANTS Database (plants.usda.gov). Greensboro, North Carolina: National Plant Data Team. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  2. "Ranunculus pusillus". County-level distribution map from the North American Plant Atlas (NAPA). Biota of North America Program (BONAP). 2014. Retrieved 15 August 2018.
  3. Ranunculus pusillus Flora of North America