E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Flora of British Columbia

Ranunculus pedatifidus Sm.
northern buttercup
Ranunculaceae (Buttercup family)

Introduction to Vascular Plants

© Hans Roemer  Email the photographer   (Photo ID #25716)

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Distribution of Ranunculus pedatifidus
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Species Information

General:
Perennial herb from slender, fibrous roots; stems 1 to several, slender, erect, 6-33 cm tall, soft-hairy or smooth, not hollow.
Leaves:
Basal leaves persistent, heart- to kidney-shaped, (5) 7 (9) -parted or -lobed, 0.8-3.8 cm long, 1-4.8 cm wide, the segments undivided or lobed or parted, not toothed, bases squared-off to heart-shaped, tips pointed, the stalks 3-8 cm long; stem leaves alternate, becoming unstalked and divided into 5 to 7 linear segments to 2.5 cm long.
Flowers:
Inflorescence a 1- to 7-flowered cyme; flower stalks 1-7 cm long, soft-hairy; receptacle densely white short-hairy; petals (0) 5 to 10, distinct, yellow, egg-shaped, 7-10 mm long, 5-9 mm wide, nectary on upper surface, the scale smooth; sepals 5, spreading, early deciduous, 4-6 mm long, 3-5 mm wide, soft-hairy above; stamens 25-50; pistils 25-80.
Fruits:
Achenes, numerous in a cylindric head 7-15 mm long, 5-8 mm wide, the achenes round to egg-shaped, 1.8-2.4 mm long, 1.6-1.8 mm wide, white short-hairy to smooth, margins distinct, not keeled; beaks lanceolate- or awl-shaped, 0.5-1 mm long, curved, sometimes deciduous.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Habitat / Range

Moist meadows in the montane to alpine zones; rare throughout BC in and east of the Coast-Cascade; circumpolar, N to AK, YT and NT, E to NF and S to NJ, WY, CO, NM and AZ; Eurasia.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Ecology

Ecological Framework for Ranunculus pedatifidus

The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from
original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range.
(Updated August, 2013)

Site Information
Value / Class

Minimum

Average

Maximum

Elevation (metres) 1680 2012 2333
Slope Gradient (%) 4 32 100
Aspect (degrees)
[0 - N; 90 - E; 180 - S; 270 - W]
6 23 297
Soil Moisture Regime (SMR)
[0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic;
8 - hydric]
2 3 5
Modal Nutrient Regime
Class
C
Number of field plots
 species was recorded in:
13
Modal BEC Zone Class
AT
All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in: AT(8), BAFA(2), ESSF(1), IMA(1)

Taxonomic and Nomenclatural Links

Additional Photo Sources

General References