Coptidium lapponicum L.
Lapland buttercup
Ranunculaceae (Buttercup family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
Lapland buttercup
Ranunculaceae (Buttercup family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
Species Information
General:
Perennial creeping herb, the stems prostrate, buried, slender, rooting at nodes, smooth; flowering shoots 2-15 cm tall.
Leaves:
Appearing to be mostly basal, persistent, kidney-shaped, 3-parted, 1-3 cm long, 1.5-4.5 cm wide, the segments round-toothed or shallowly lobed, tips rounded; long-stalked.
Flowers:
Inflorescence of solitary, axillary flowers, the flower stalks naked, rarely leafy; receptacle smooth; petals 5-8, distinct, yellow, 5-6 mm long, 2-3 mm wide, oblanceolate to spoon-shaped, clawed, nectary on upper surface, the scale smooth; sepals 3, spreading to bent back, soon deciduous, 4-7 mm long, 2-5 mm wide, smooth; stamens 10-12; pistils 6-20.
Fruits:
Grouped in a hemispheric head 5-7 mm long, 8-10 mm wide, the achenes egg-shaped, 3.8- 4.2 mm long, 2-2.2 mm wide, smooth; beaks persistent, lanceolate, 1.6-2.4 mm long, curved, tips hooked.
Notes:
At first glance this species could be mistaken for Anemone richardsonii.
Illustration
If more than one illustration is available for a species (e.g., separate illustrations were provided for two subspecies) then links to the separate images will be provided below. Note that individual subspecies or varietal illustrations are not always available.
Illustration Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia
Ecology
Ecological Framework for Coptidium lapponicum
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)
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 |
||
|
Avg |
Min |
Max |
|
| Elevation
(metres) |
982 | 56 | 1750 |
| Slope
Gradient (%) |
4 | 0 | 35 |
|
Aspect (degrees) |
338 | 0 | 323 |
| Soil
Moisture Regime (SMR) [0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic; 8 - hydric] |
6 | 4 | 8 |
| Modal
Nutrient Regime
Class |
D | ||
| #
of field plots species was recorded in: |
51 | ||
| Modal
BEC Zone Class |
BWBS | ||
|
All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in |
BAFA(3), BWBS(14), ESSF(7), ICH(3), IDF(2), MS(1), SBPS(3), SBS(13) | ||
|
Source:
Klinkenberg 2013
|
|||
Habitat and Range
Moist to wet bogs, swamps and forests in the montane zone; common E of the Coast-Cascade Mountains N of 53degreeN; circumpolar, N to AK, YT and NT, E to Greenland and S to ME, MN and MI; N Eurasia.Status Information
Synonyms
Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Ranunculus lapponicus L.