Ranunculus aquatilis L.
white water-buttercup (white water buttercup; white water crowfoot)
Ranunculaceae (Buttercup family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
white water-buttercup (white water buttercup; white water crowfoot)
Ranunculaceae (Buttercup family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
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Species Information click to expand contents
General:
Aquatic, perennial herb, rooting from nodes of lower stems; stems weak, few-branched, creeping or floating, 20-80 cm long, often mat-forming, smooth.
Leaves:
All alternate stem leaves, of two possible types, the floating leaves usually kidney-shaped, 3-parted, 5-8 mm long, 9-15 mm wide, the leaflets elliptic or egg-shaped, margins often notched, unstalked or the stalks 15-40 mm long, the submerged leaves 3 to 5 times 3-dissected, the segments thread-like, the stalks 1-12 mm long; leaves, stalks and stipule-sheaths usually fine-hairy.
Fruits:
Achenes, 10 to 20 in an egg- to globe-shaped head 2-4 mm long, 2-5 mm wide, the achenes egg-shaped, flattened, 1-2 mm long, 0.8-1.4 mm wide, smooth or stiff-hairy; beaks persistent, thread-like, 0.1-1.2 mm long.
Notes:
The taxonomy of the R. aquatilis complex, at least in North America, remains unclear. The treatment by Whittemore (1997), which we have followed, has included some of our W North American plants with the Eurasian var. aquatilis. The recognition of only two varieties in BC, at least until taxonomic problems are resolved, appears to be the only realistic treatment.
1. Floating leaves simple and dissimilar to the submerged, filiform leaves................. var. aquatilis
1. Floating leaves, if any, similar to the submerged, filiform leaves.................. var. diffusus With.
Ecology click to expand contents
Ecological Framework for Ranunculus aquatilis
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) |
901 | 0 | 1720 |
| Slope
Gradient (%) |
2 | 0 | 42 |
|
Aspect (degrees) |
90 | 32 | 150 |
| 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: |
19 | ||
| Modal
BEC Zone Class |
IDF | ||
|
All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in |
BG(1), BWBS(1), CDF(2), CWH(1), ESSF(2), ICH(1), IDF(5), MS(1), PP(1), SBPS(2), SBS(2) | ||
|
Source:
Klinkenberg 2013
|
|||
Habitat and Range click to expand contents
Ponds and slow-moving streams in the lowland, steppe and montane zones; var. diffusus - common throughout BC, var. aquatilis - infrequent in S BC east of the Coast-Cascade Mountains; var. diffusus - throughout N.A. north of MX, var. aquatilis - circumpolar, N to AK, YT and NT and S to MT, WY, UT, TX, CA and MX; Eurasia, S America.
Synonyms click to expand contents
Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Batrachium aquatile (L.) Dumort.
Batrachium circinatum (Sibth.) Rchb.
Batrachium circinatum subsp. subrigidum (W. Drew) A. Löve & D. Löve
Batrachium longirostre (Godr.) F.W. Schultz
Ranunculus amphibius James
Ranunculus aquatilis var. diffusus With. p.p.
Ranunculus aquatilis var. hispidulus E. Drew
Ranunculus aquatilis var. longirostris (Godr.) G. Lawson
Ranunculus aquatilis var. subrigidus (W. Drew) Breitung
Ranunculus aquatilis var. typicus L.D. Benson
Ranunculus circinatus auct. non Sibth.
Ranunculus circinatus var. subrigidus (W. Drew) L.D. Benson
Ranunculus subrigidus W. Drew
Ranunculus trichophyllus var. hispidulus (E. Drew) W. Drew
Ranunculus usneoides Greene