Ranunculus platanifolius

• Interesting Facts
• Description
• Taxonomy
• Similar Species
• More Info
• Further Reading
• Notes

Interesting Facts

Description

Family Ranunculaceae

Herbs perennial or annual , sometimes subshrubs or herbaceous or woody vines . Leaves basal and cauline, alternate, rarely opposite or whorled , simple or variously compound , palmately nerved, rarely penninerved , with or without stipules. Inflorescence a simple or compound monochasium, dichasium, simple or compound raceme, or flowers solitary. Flowers bisexual , sometimes unisexual , actinomorphic , rarely zygomorphic, hypogynous. Sepals 3--6 or more, free , petaloid or sepaloid , imbricate or sometimes valvate in bud. Petals present or absent, 2--8 or more, free, usually with nectaries. Stamens numerous , rarely few, free; filaments linear or filiform ; anthers latrorse , introrse , or extrorse ; sometimes some sterile stamens becoming staminodes. Carpels numerous or few, rarely 1, free, rarely connate to various degrees ; ovary with 1 to many ovules. Fruit follicles or achenes, rarely capsules or berries . Seeds small, with abundant endosperm and minute embryo.

About 60 genera and 2500 species: worldwide, but richly represented in N temperate regions , particularly in E Asia; 38 genera (four endemic) and 921 species (604 endemic) in China.[1]

Genus Ranunculus

Herbs, annual or perennial , from tuberous roots , caudices, rhizomes, stolons, or bulbous stem bases . Leaves basal, cauline, or both, simple , variously lobed or parted , or compound , all petiolate or distal leaves sessile; cauline leaves alternate (rarely a distal pair opposite in Ranunculus sect. Flammula ) . Leaf blade reniform to linear , margins entire, crenate , or toothed . Inflorescences terminal or axillary , 2-50-flowered cymes to 25 cm or solitary flowers; bracts present or absent, small or large and leaflike, not forming involucre. Flowers bisexual , radially symmetric ; sepals sometimes persistent in fruit, 3-5(-6), green or sometimes purple, yellow, or white, plane (base saccate in R . ficaria ), oblong to elliptic , ovate , or lanceolate, 1-15 mm; petals 0-22(-150), distinct , yellow, rarely white, red, or green, plane, linear to orbiculate, 1-26 mm; nectary present, usually covered by scale; stamens (5-) 10-many; filaments filiform ; staminodes absent between stamens and pistils; pistils 4-250, simple; ovule 1 per ovary; style present or absent. Fruits achenes, rarely utricles, aggregate, sessile, discoid , lenticular , globose , obovoid , or cylindric , sides sometimes veined; beak present or absent, terminal, straight or curved , 0-4.5 mm. x = 7, 8.

Species about 300: worldwide except lowland tropics.

Most Ranunculus species are poisonous to stock; when abundant, they may be troublesome to ranchers. A few species with acrid juice were formerly used as vesicatories. The genus is badly in need of biosystematic work. Apomixis and interspecific hybridization occur in several Old World groups of buttercups; some of the taxonomic complexity of the New World species probably results from these processes.

Considerable disagreement exists among authors on the proper generic and infrageneric classification of Ranunculus . Most of the subgenera accepted here have been treated as separate genera at one time or another. All recent studies have been based on local or continental floras , however, and classifications proposed for one region may not work for the plants of other regions. Like most North American workers, I have followed the generic and infrageneric classification of L. D. Benson (1948), who gave by far the most thorough and best documented study of the problem. The genus and its subdivisions should be studied on a worldwide basis.[2]

Habitat

Typically found at an altitude of 0 to 2,500 meters (0 to 8,202 feet).[3]

Taxonomy

Notes

A tentatively accepted name in the RHS Horticultural Database.

Similar Species

Members of the genus Ranunculus

ZipcodeZoo has pages for 202 species, subspecies, varieties, forms, and cultivars in this genus. Here are just 100 of them:

R. abortivus (Early Woodbuttercup) · R. abortivus var. abortivus (Littleleaf Buttercup) · R. acer (Cmmon Buttercup) · R. aconitifolius 'Flore Pleno' (Fair Maids of France) · R. acriformis (Sharpleaf Buttercup) · R. acriformis var. acriformis (Sharpleaf Buttercup) · R. acriformis var. montanensis (Mountain Sharp Buttercup) · R. acris (Common Buttercup) · R. acris var. acris (Meadow Buttercup) · R. acris var. b (Meadow Buttercup) · R. acris var. frigidus (Meadow Buttercup) · R. adoneus (Alpine Buttercup) · R. adoneus var. adoneus (Alpine Buttercup) · R. adoneus var. alpinus (Alpine Buttercup) · R. aestivalis (Autumn Buttercup) · R. alismaefolius alismaefolius (Water-Plantain Buttercup) · R. alismifolius (Dwarf Buttercup) · R. alismifolius var. alismellus (Plantainleaf Buttercup) · R. alismifolius var. alismifolius (Plantainleaf Buttercup) · R. alismifolius var. davisii (Davis' Buttercup) · R. alismifolius var. montanus (Waterplantain Buttercup) · R. allegheniensis (Allegheny Mountain Buttercup) · R. allenii (Allen Buttercup) · R. ambigens (Waterplantain Spearwort) · R. andersonii (Anderson's Buttercup) · R. andersonii var. andersonii (Anderson's Buttercup) · R. andersonii var. tenellus (Anderson's Buttercup) · R. aquatilis (Water Buttercup) · R. aquatilis var. aquatilis (White Water-Crowfoot) · R. arizonicus (Arizona Buttercup) · R. arvensis (Corn Buttercup) · R. asiaticus (Persian Buttercup) · R. auricomus (Goldilocks) · R. auricomus var. auricomus (Greenland Buttercup) · R. auricomus var. glabratus (Greenland Buttercup) · R. austrooreganus (Southern Oregon Buttercup) · R. baudotii (Brackish Water-Crowfoot) · R. bonariensis (Carter's Buttercup) · R. bonariensis var. trisepalus (Carter's Buttercup) · R. bulbosus (Blister Flower) · R. bulbosus bulbosus (St. Anthony's Turnip) · R. calandrinioides (High Alpine Buttercup) · R. californicus (California Buttercup) · R. californicus var. californicus (California Buttercup) · R. canus (Sacramento Valley Buttercup) · R. canus var. canus (Sacramento Valley Buttercup) · R. cardiophyllus (Heart-Leaf Buttercup) · R. coloradensis (Colorado Buttercup) · R. cordiger (Wingleaf Buttercup) · R. cortusifolius (Ranunculus Cortusifolius) · R. cymbalaria (Alkali Buttercup) · R. cymbalaria var. cymbalaria (Alkali Buttercup) · R. eastwoodianus (Eastwood's Buttercup) · R. eschscholtzii (Eschscholtz's Buttercup) · R. eschscholtzii var. eschscholitzii (Eschscholtz's Buttercup) · R. eschscholtzii var. hultenianus (Hulten's Buttercup) · R. eschscholtzii var. oxynotus (Eschscholtz's Buttercup) · R. eschscholtzii var. trisectus (Threesection Buttercup) · R. eximius (Tundra Buttercup) · R. fascicularis (Early Buttercup) · R. ficaria (Celandine) · R. ficaria ficaria var. ficaria (Lesser Celandine) · R. ficaria var. aurantiacus (Lesser Celendine) · R. ficaria var. bulbifera (Fig Buttercup) · R. ficaria var. ficaria (Fig Buttercup) · R. ficaria 'Brambling' (Lesser Celendine) · R. ficaria 'Brazen Hussy' (Lesser Celendine) · R. ficaria 'Coppernob' (Lesser Celendine) · R. ficaria 'Double Mud' (Lesser Celendine) · R. ficaria 'Flore Pleno' (Double Lesser Celendine) · R. ficaria 'Ragamuffin' (Lesser Celendine) · R. ficaria 'Salmon's White' (Salmon's White Lesser Celendine) · R. ficaria 'Tortoiseshell' (Lesser Celendine) · R. flabellaris (Greater Yellow Water Buttercup) · R. flammula (Greater Creeping Spearwort) · R. flammula var. angustifolius (Greater Creeping Spearwort) · R. flammula var. filiformis (Greater Creeping Spearwort) · R. flammula var. flammula (Greater Creeping Spearwort) · R. flammula var. varians (Lesser Spearwort) · R. fluitans (River Water-Crowfoot) · R. glaberrimus (Sagebrush Buttercup) · R. glaberrimus var. ellipticus (Elliptical Buttercup) · R. glaberrimus var. glaberrimus (Sagebrush Buttercup) · R. glacialis (Glacier Buttercup) · R. glacialis chamissonis var. chamissonis (Glacier Buttercup) · R. glacialis var. chamissonis (Glacier Buttercup) · R. glacialis var. chamissonus (Glacier Buttercup) · R. glacialis var. glacialis (Glacier Buttercup) · R. gmelini (Lesser Yellow Water Buttercup) · R. gmelinii (Buttercup) · R. gmelinii var. gmelinii (Gmelin's Buttercup) · R. gmelini gmelini (Lesser Yellow Water Buttercup) · R. gormanii (Gorman's Buttercup) · R. harveyi (Harvey Buttercup) · R. hawaiensis (Buttercup) · R. hebecarpus (Delicate Buttercup) · R. hederaceus (Ivy Buttercup) · R. heimburgerae (Heimburger's Buttercup) · R. hexasepalus (Queen Charlotte Island Buttercup) · R. hispidus (Bristly Buttercup)

More Info

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Further Reading

• A dictionary of modern gardening. Philadelphia, Lea and Blanchard, 1847. url p. 200.
• A general system of gardening and botany. Founded upon Miller's Gardener's dictionary, and arranged according to the natural system. By George Don. London, Printed for C. J. G. and F. Rivington, 1831-38. url p. 30.
• Anales de la Sociedad Española de Historia Natural. Madrid: La Sociedad, url p. 56.
• Botany for ladies; or, A popular introduction to the natural system of plants, according to the classification of De Candolle. By Mrs. Loudon. London, J. Murray, 1842. url p. 16.
• Coloured vade-mecum to the alpine flora... S.l.: s.n., 1914? url , .
• Dedication papers: scientific papers presented at the dedication of the laboratory building and plant houses, April 19-21, 1917. Brooklyn, N.Y.: Brooklyn Botanic Garden, 1918. url p. 372.
• Don, G. A general history of the dichlamydeous plants: comprising complete descriptions of the different orders...the whole arranged according to the natural system /by George Don. 1 1831 London: J.G. and F. Rivington, 1831-1838. url p. 30.
• Experiment station record. Washington: G.P.O., 1889-1946. url p. 647.
• Ground beetles (Carabidae) of Fennoscandia: a zoogeographic study / by Carl H. Lindroth; Joachim Adis, scientific editor. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Libraries and National Science Foundation, 1989- url p. 779.
• Handbook of hardy trees, shrubs, and herbaceous plants. .. Based on the French work of Messrs. Decaisne and Naudin. ..entitled 'Manuel de l'amateur des jardins, ' and including the original woodcuts by Riocreux and Leblanc. Boston, Estes & Lauriat, 1873. url .
• Hardwicke's science-gossip: an illustrated medium of interchange and gossip for students and lovers of nature. London: Robert Hardwicke, 1866- url p. 53.
• Journal of botany, British and foreign. London: Robert Hardwicke, 1863-1942. url p. 50.
• Journal of the Royal Microscopical Society. Oxford [etc.]Royal Microscopical Society. url p. 202.
• List of rare, threatened and endemic plants in Europe (1982 edition) Council of Europe url p. 31.
• Memoirs / Brooklyn Botanic Garden. Brooklyn, N.Y.: The Garden, 1918-1936. url p. 372.
• Plant life in Alpine Switzerland; being an account in simple language of the natural history of Alpine plants, by E. A. Newell Arber. .. Illustrated by 48 plates of photographs from nature, and 30 figures in the text. London: J. Murray, 1910. url p. 351.
• Sport in Norway, and where to find it. Together with a short account of the vegetable productions of the country. To which is added, a list of the Alpine flora of the Dovre fjeld and of the Norwegian ferns, &c. By M. R. Barnard. .. London: Chapman and Hall, 1864. url p. 329, p. 329.
• The Garden: an illustrated weekly journal of gardening in all its branches. London: [s.n., url , p. 135, p. 136, p. 216, p. 29, p. 500, p. 78.
• The Gardeners' chronicle and agricultural gazette. London: published for the proprietors, 1844-1873. url p. 250.
• The Gardeners' chronicle: a weekly illustrated journal of horticulture and allied subjects. London: [Gardeners Chronicle], 1874-1955. url p. 196.
• The Phytologist: a botanical journal. London, William Pamplin, 1855-1863. url p. 593.
• The Phytologist: a popular botanical miscellany. London, John van Voorst, 1844-56. url p. 504.
• The mutation theory; experiments and observations on the origin of species in the vegetable kingdom, by Hugo de Vries. .. tr. by Prof. J. B. Farmer and A. D. Darbishire. .. Chicago, Open Court Publishing Company; [etc., etc.]1909-10. url p. 49, p. 51.
• The naturalist in Norway: or, Notes on the wild animals, birds, fishes, and plants of that country. .. / by Rev. J. Bowden. London: L. Reeve & Co., 1869. url p. 233.
• Benson, L. D. 1948. A treatise on the North American Ranunculi. Amer. Midl. Naturalist 40: 1-261.
• Benson, L. D. 1954. Supplement to a treatise on the North American Ranunculi. Amer. Midl. Naturalist 52: 328-369.
• Cook, C. D. K. 1966. A monographic study of Ranunculus subgenus Batrachium (DC.) A. Gray. Mitt. Bot. Staatssamml. München 6: 47-237.
• Duncan, T. 1980. A taxonomic study of the Ranunculus hispidus Michaux complex in the Western Hemisphere. Univ. Calif. Publ. Bot. 77: 1-125.
• Nesom, G. L. 1993. Ranunculus (Ranunculaceae) in Nuevo León, with comments on the R. petiolaris group. Phytologia 75: 391-398.

Notes

Contributors

• Brands, S.J. (comp.) 1989-present. The Taxonomicon. Universal Taxonomic Services, Zwaag, The Netherlands. Accessed January 30, 2012.

Data Sources

Accessed through GBIF Data Portal November 11, 2007:

• GBIF-Spain, Departamento de Biolog. Veg. II, Facultad de Farmacia, Universidad Complutense, Madrid: MAF
• Museum of Natural History, Wroclaw University, Museum of Natural History, Wroclaw University, Flora of the Stołowe Mts.
• Natural History Museum, University of Oslo, Vascular Plant Herbarium, Oslo
• Natural History Museum, University of Oslo, Vascular Plants, Field notes, Oslo
• Steiermärkisches Landesmuseum Joanneum - Herbarium GJO, Herbarium GJO
• The Swedish Museum of Natural History
• , Herbarium of Oskarshamn
• The Swedish Museum of Natural History
• , Lund Botanical Museum
• The Swedish Museum of Natural History
• , Plants
• Tiroler Landesmuseum Ferdinandeum, Tiroler Landesmuseum Ferdinandeum
• University of Vienna, Institute for Botany - Herbarium WU, Herbarium WU

Identifiers

• Biodiversity Heritage Library NamebankID: 8521034
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility Taxonkey: 13770139
• Globally Unique Identifier: urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:713535-1
• Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 647929

Footnotes

1. Wencai Wang, Dezhi Fu, Liang-Qian Li, Bruce Bartholomew, Anthony R. Brach, Bryan E. Dutton, Michael G. Gilbert, Yuichi Kadota, Orbélia R. Robinson, Michio Tamura, Michael J. Warnock, Guanghua Zhu & Svetlana N. Ziman "Ranunculaceae". in Flora of China Vol. 6 Page 133. Published by Science Press (Beijing) and Missouri Botanical Garden Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
2. Alan T. Whittemore "Ranunculus". in Flora of North America Vol. 3. Oxford University Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
3. Mean = 672.710 meters (2,207.054 feet), Standard Deviation = 437.610 based on 2,151 observations. Altitude information for each observation from British Oceanographic Data Centre. [back]

©2004-2012 David Stang. All rights reserved.