Ranunculus macounii Britton
Macoun's buttercup
Ranunculaceae (Buttercup family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
Macoun's buttercup
Ranunculaceae (Buttercup family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
Species Information
General:
Perennial (or annual) herb from thick and somewhat fleshy root mass; stems from nearly erect to prostrate, often rooting at nodes, 20-90 cm long, long-hairy or smooth, hollow.
Leaves:
Basal, persistent, heart- to kidney-shaped, 3-parted, the blades 3.5-8 cm long, 4.5-9.5 cm wide, the leaflets 3-lobed or -parted, the ultimate segments elliptic or lance-elliptic, toothed or shallowly lobed, tips pointed, the leaf stalks to 30 cm long, the stalks of lateral leaflets 3-10 mm long; stem leaves 1 or 2 and transitional to much-reduced bracts.
Flowers:
Inflorescence of few-flowered, terminal cymes, the flower stalks to 6 cm long; receptacle long-hairy; petals 5, distinct, yellow, 4-6 mm long, 3.5-5 mm wide, egg-shaped, nectary on upper surface, the scale about 0.5 mm long, smooth; sepals 5, spreading or bent back about 1 mm above base, soon deciduous, 4-6 mm long, 1.5-3 mm wide, smooth or long-hairy; stamens 20-40; pistils 20-60.
Fruits:
Achenes, numerous in a globe- to egg-shaped head 7-11 mm long, 7-10 mm wide, the achenes elliptic to egg-shaped, 2.4-3 mm long, 2-2.4 mm wide, smooth, margins slightly keeled; beaks persistent, lanceolate, 1-1.2 mm long, straight or nearly so.
Notes:
The smooth to nearly smooth form (var. oreganus) has been collected on occasion in BC but does not warrant formal recognition.
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
USDA Species Characteristics
Ecology
Ecological Framework for Ranunculus macounii
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) |
957 | 455 | 1987 |
| Slope
Gradient (%) |
5 | 0 | 59 |
|
Aspect (degrees) |
245 | 18 | 335 |
| 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: |
33 | ||
| Modal
BEC Zone Class |
SBS | ||
|
All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in |
BG(1), BWBS(1), ESSF(5), ICH(3), IDF(7), PP(2), SBPS(1), SBS(11), SWB(1) | ||
|
Source:
Klinkenberg 2013
|
|||
Habitat and Range
Wet to moist meadows, shores, ditches, streambanks, thickets and forest openings in the lowland, steppe and montane zones; common throughout BC except rare near the coast; N to AK, YT and NT, E to NF and S to MI, MN, NE, NM, AZ, NV and N CA.Status Information
Synonyms
Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Ranunculus macounii var. macounii
Ranunculus macounii var. oreganus (A. Gray) Davis