CROWFOOT FAMILY RANUNCULACEAE 
EARLY CROWFOOT 
Ranunculus fascicularis Muhl. 
This is one of the earliest Buttercups, blooming in April 
and May. It is found on hills and in open woods from Ontario 
and New England south to North Carolina and west to Manitoba 
and Texas. In Illinois it is 
very common on sunny 
open banks, especially in 
the north. 
The plant is usually 4-6 
inches high. It produces a 
cluster of thickened fleshy 
roots, several pinnate basal 
leaves with hairy petioles, 
and I or more flowering 
stems which are also hairy. 
The petals are yellow, 
5-7, and about twice as 
long as the divisions of the 
calyx. Stamens and pistils 
are numerous. The fruits 
form a head of flattened 
and slightly margined 
akenes. The persistent 
style forms a slender, 
straight or somewhat curved 
beak which is about as long 
as the akene. 
The common Buttercup 
is the Tall Crowfoot, Ra- 
nunculus acris L., which has 
been naturalized from Europe. It is common in fields and blooms 
from June to August. From a cluster of much-divided basal leaves 
springs the hollow flowering stem bearing few leaves and large 
bright yellow flowers. The stems are hairy and 8-24 inches high, 
and contain most of the intensely acrid juice for which the plant is 
named. The flowers are followed by heads of flattened, slightly 
hooked akenes. 
The buttercups, bright eyed and bold, 
Held up their chalices of gold 
To catch the sunshine and the dew. 
Centennial Poem—J. C. R. Dorr 
98 
