210 RANUNCULACEAE 



26. Ranunculus Gormanii Greene. Gorman's Buttercup. Fig. 1847. 



Ranunculus Gormanii Greene, Pittonia 3: 91. 1896 

 Ranunculus terrestris Wynd, Torreya 30: 53. 1930. 



Glabrous perennial, the roots slender, each with a small, light-colored, fusiform base ; stems 

 prostrate, stolon-like, 1-2 dm. long, rooting at usually 2 or 3 nodes, filiform. Basal and cauline 

 leaves alike, broadly ovate to deltoid-ovate, 20-30 mm. long, 15-22 mm. broad, entire, thin and 

 flaccid, 3-nerved; pedicels terminal or nearly so; sepals spreading, ovate, 2-3 mm. long; gla- 

 brous; petals 5, bright straw-yellow, 5-6 mm. long; achenes 6-15, 1.5 mm. long, glabrous, 

 smooth, somewhat compressed, slightly margined, beak evident, curved at the tip; receptacle 

 short, not enlarged in fruit. 



Boggy mountain streams and meadows, Hudsonian Zone; Cascade Mountains from the Three Sisters, Ore- 

 gon, to the Siskiyou and Klamath Mountains, California; 2,000 meters elevation. Type locality: Crater Lake, 

 Oregon. June-July. 



27. Ranunculus Populago Greene. Cusick's Buttercup. Fig. 1848. 



Ranunculus Populago Greene, Erythea 3: 19. 1895. 



Ranunculus Cusickii M. E. Jones, Proc. Calif. Acad. II. 5: 615. 1895. 



Flaccid and glabrous perennial, the roots fleshy, each with a light-colored, fusiform bulge at 

 the base; stems 1 or 2, reclining or suberect, 1.4 dm. long. Basal leaves round-reniform to cor- 

 date-ovate or ovate, 3-5 cm. long by 3-6 cm. broad, denticulate, thin; cauline leaves opposite, 

 rarely alternate, deltoid-ovate or ovate-lanceolate; sepals spreading,_ rounded, 2.5-4 mm. long; 

 petals 5, yellow, narrowly obovate, 8 mm. long ; achenes in a hemispherical head 3-4 mm. in 

 radius, obovate, 1.5 mm. long, glabrous, beak straight, one-third the length of the body; re- 

 ceptacle short, a little enlarged in fruit. 



Mountain meadows, Transition and Canadian Zones; Blue Mountains, Washington, mountains of Oregon, 

 and the Siskiyou and Klamath Mountains south in the Sierra Nevada to Butte County, California, east to Idaho. 

 Type locality: Blue Mountains, Oregon. June-July. 



28. Ranunculus pusillus Poir. Low Buttercup or Spearwort. Fig. 1849. 



Ranunculus pusillus Poir. in Lam. Encyl. 6: 99. 1804. 



Ranunculus trachyspermus var. Lindheimeri Engelm. Bost. Journ. Nat. Hist. 5: 211. 1847. 

 Ranunculus pusillus var. Lindheimeri A. Gray, Proc. Amer. Acad. 21 : 367. 1886. 

 Ranunculus Biolettii Greene, Pittonia 2: 225. 1892. 



Glabrous palustrine annuals, the stems reclining, 1-5 dm. long, fistulous, rooting at the lower 

 nodes. Basal and lower cauline leaves oblong to ovate or rarely cordate, 6-30 mm. long by 5-15 

 mm. broad, entire or undulate ; upper cauline leaves linear to lanceolate or oblanceolate, sessile ; 

 sepals greenish yellow, ovate, 1-1.5 mm. long, glabrous or hairy; petals 1-3, obovate, 1-1.5 

 mm. long by 1 mm. broad, the nectary scale truncate; stamens 5-10; achenes 15-50 in an ovoid 

 or hemispherical head 3-5 mm. long by 1-2 mm. in radius, bodies 1 mm. long, smooth or papillate, 

 glabrous, style and achene beak 0.1-0.2 mm. long; receptacle enlarged in fruit, pyriform. 



Shallow water of valleys, Transition Zone; Outer Coast Ranges from Humboldt County to the Santa Cruz 

 Mountains and Napa County, California; also in the southern United States. Type locality: Carolina. April- 

 May. 



29. Ranunculus alveolatus Carter. Carter's Buttercup. Fig. 1850. 



Ranunculus alveolatus Carter apud Benson & Carter, Amer. Journ. Bot. 26: 555. 1939. 



Glabrous to sparsely pubescent semi-aquatic annual, the stems many-branched from near 

 the base, rooting at the lower nodes, 12-30 cm. long. Leaves alternate, the blades simple, ovate 

 to ovate-lanceolate, 6-20 mm. long by 4-12 mm. broad, entire to slightly dentate, petioles of the 

 lower cauline leaves 30-85 mm. long, petioles of the upper cauline leaves 6-35 mm. long ; stipular 

 leaf bases membranous-margined, non-ciliate or slightly ciliate at the apices; sepals 3, mem- 

 branous-margined at the bases, broadly ovate, 2-2.5 mm. long by 1-1.5 mm. broad; petals 2-3, 

 yellow, ovate, 2-2.5 mm. long by 1 mm. broad, the nectary scale a glabrous pocket, truncate; 

 stamens 4-5; achenes 15-25 in a slightly elongated head 3-5 mm. long by 3-4 mm. in diameter, 

 each achene oval, flattened, 1.5 mm. long by 1.25 mm. dorsoventrally by 0.5 mm. laterally, the 

 surface alveolate, the beak obscure; receptacle 2-3.5 mm. long by 1.25-1.5 mm. in diameter in 

 fruit, glabrous. 



Margins of ponds and marshy areas along small streams, Sierra Nevada foothills from Calaveras County 

 to Placer County, California. Type locality: between Fair Oaks and Folsom, California. April-May. 



30. Ranunculus sceleratus L. Cursed Buttercup or Crowfoot. Fig. 1851. 



Ranunculus sceleratus L. Sp. PI. 551. 1753. 



Stems 1-10 dm. long, 2-15 mm. in diameter. Basal and cauline leaves reniform, 1-3 or 6 cm. 

 long by 1.5-5 or 10 cm. broad, deeply 3-parted or -divided, the primary parts or divisions of the 

 basal usually merely lobed, but sometimes parted or divided, the ultimate lobes obtuse, the sinuses 

 rounded out ; sepals spreading, at least three-fourths the length of the petals and often exceeding 

 them ; petals light yellow, 2-3 or 5 mm. long ; achenes in a head 3 mm. long by 2 mm. in diameter 

 up to 10 mm. by 7 mm., the body obovate, less than 1 mm. long, turgid, the pericarp trans- 

 versely ridged. 



Borders of lakes and marshland, Transition Zone; naturalized about Seattle and Portland and the islands 

 of Puget Sound, also in eastern North America. Type locality: European. June- Aug. 



