RANUNCULACEAE CROWFOOT FAMILY 
SMALL-FLOWERED CROWFOOT 
Ranunculus abortivus L. 
Of all the many common Buttercups the Small-flowered 
Crowfoot is the most weedlike because its small flowers make it 
much less conspicuous and less handsome than most of the 
others. It is widely dis- 
tributed, being found in 
woods and other moist 
places from Labrador and 
Nova Scotia to Manitoba, 
southward to Florida, Ar- 
kansas and Colorado. It is 
a biennial and blooms in 
April, May and June. 
The stem is_ slightly 
fleshy and grows 6-24 inches 
high. It usually has numer- 
ous branches and may be 
entirely smooth or covered 
with short scattered hairs. 
The basal leaves have long 
petioles and are round- 
heart shaped or kidney 
form. Those on the stem and branches are 
sessile or nearly so and often divided 
nearly to the base into 3-5 parts. 
The green sepals, mostly 5, are reflexed 
downward and the 5 yellow petals are 
shorter than the calyx. Stamens and pistils 
are numerous. The styles are extremely short. The fruits are 
akenes, each with a short curved beak. There is a minute nectar 
pit and a scale at the base of each petal, and on this account the 
flowers are visited and pollinated by several kinds of insects. 
The Hooked Crowfoot, Ranunculus recurvatus Poir., is another 
small-flowered species common in woods. The stems are hairy and 
the leaves are all 3-lobed and toothed. The beaks of the fruits are 
long and curved into hooks. The root leaves of this species are rarely 
divided. The plant occurs from Nova Scotia to Manitoba and south 
to Florida and Kansas. It flowers in May and June. 
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