Halerpestes cymbalaria Pursh
shore buttercup
Ranunculaceae (Buttercup family)

Introduction to Vascular Plants

Photograph

© Virginia Skilton     (Photo ID #2875)


Map

E-Flora BC Static Map

Distribution of Halerpestes cymbalaria
Click here to view the full interactive map and legend

Species Information

General:
Perennial, stoloniferous herb from fibrous roots; stems of two types, flowering stems erect or ascending and 5-30 cm tall, one or more other stems (stolons) decumbent to prostrate, rooting at nodes, and 10-40 cm long, smooth or sparsely soft-hairy.
Leaves:
Basal leaves simple, undivided, oblong to heart-shaped or circular, 0.7-3.8 cm long, 0.8-3.2 cm wide, shallowly to deeply round-toothed, tips rounded, the stalks 1- to 5-times the length of blade; stem leaves alternate, few, much reduced.
Flowers:
Inflorescence a 1- to 5-flowered cyme; flower stalks 2-6 cm long, the bracts scale-like; receptacle smooth or stiff-hairy; petals usually 5, distinct, yellow, oblanceolate to spoon-shaped, 2-7 mm long, 1-3 mm wide, nectary on upper surface, the nectary scale smooth, 0.4 mm long; sepals 5, spreading, early deciduous, greenish-yellow, 2.5-6 mm long, 1.5-3 mm wide, smooth; stamens 15-30; pistils 50-200.
Fruits:
Achenes, numerous in a cylindric or long, egg-shaped head 6-12 mm long, 4-5 mm wide, the achenes egg-shaped, 1-1.4 mm long, 0.8-1.2 mm wide, smooth, membranous, margins and faces strongly veined; beaks persistent, stout, 0.1-0.2 mm long, straight.
Notes:
Larger plants are sometimes recognized as var. saximontanus but these extremes intergrade completely and hardly appear justified.

SourceThe Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

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.

Ecology

Ecological Framework for Halerpestes cymbalaria

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)
927 0 1630
Slope Gradient (%)
1 0 15

Aspect (degrees)
[0 - N; 90 - E; 180 - S; 270 - W]

156 30 255
Soil Moisture Regime (SMR)
[0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic;
8 - hydric]
6 5 7
Modal Nutrient Regime
Class
D
# of field plots
 species was recorded in:
50
Modal BEC Zone Class
IDF

All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in

BG(6), BWBS(1), CWH(2), ESSF(1), IDF(33), MS(3), PP(2), SBPS(2)

Habitat and Range

Moist to wet saline or alkaline shorelines, tideflats, ditches, muddy clearings, marshes and meadows in the lowland, montane and steppe zones; common in S BC, less frequent northward; circumpolar, N to AK, YT and NT, E to NF and S to NJ, IL, AR, TX and MX; Eurasia.

SourceThe Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Synonyms

Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Ranunculus cymbalaria Pursh