Ranunculus repens L.
creeping buttercup
Ranunculaceae (Buttercup family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
creeping buttercup
Ranunculaceae (Buttercup family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
Species Information
General:
Perennial herb from slender fibrous roots; stems several, sometimes erect, usually 1 or more creeping and freely rooting at nodes, to 100 cm long, often slightly hollow; plants hairy.
Leaves:
Basal egg-shaped to triangular, 3-parted, 1-8.5 cm long, 1.5-10 cm wide, the leaflets lobed, parted, or parted and again lobed, often with pale spot at the base of each sinus, the ultimate segments egg-shaped to elliptic or sometimes narrowly oblong, toothed, tips blunt to sharp-pointed, the stalks to 40 cm long; stem leaves alternate, the lower long-stalked, transitional to the simple to 5-parted bracts.
Flowers:
Inflorescence of few-flowered cymes terminal on erect stem and branches; flower stalks to 15 cm long; receptacle long stiff-hairy or rarely smooth; petals usually 5, sometimes 6 to 9 (to many), distinct, yellow, broadly egg-shaped to nearly circular, 6-18 mm long, 5-12 mm wide, nectary on upper surface, the nectary scale smooth, 1-1.5 mm long; sepals 5, spreading or bent back from base, early deciduous, greenish, 4-7 mm long, 1.5-3 mm wide, long stiff-hairy or sometimes smooth; stamens 30- 80; pistils (10) 20-50.
Fruits:
Achenes, several to many in a globe- to egg-shaped head 5-10 mm long, 5-8 mm wide, the achenes egg-shaped to irregularly circular, 2.6-3.2 mm long, 2-2.8 mm wide, smooth, strongly flattened, margins prominent, somewhat keeled; beaks persistent, lanceolate, 0.8-1.2 mm long, curved.
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
Flower Colour:
Yellow
Blooming Period:
Mid Spring
Fruit/Seed characteristics:
Colour: Brown
Present from Summer to Fall
Source: The USDA
Ecology
Ecological Framework for Ranunculus repens
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) |
446 | 5 | 1800 |
| Slope
Gradient (%) |
3 | 0 | 25 |
|
Aspect (degrees) |
56 | 5 | 360 |
| Soil
Moisture Regime (SMR) [0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic; 8 - hydric] |
5 | 3 | 7 |
| Modal
Nutrient Regime
Class |
D | ||
| #
of field plots species was recorded in: |
62 | ||
| Modal
BEC Zone Class |
CWH | ||
|
All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in |
CDF(17), CWH(30), ESSF(1), ICH(9), IDF(1) | ||
|
Source:
Klinkenberg 2013
|
|||
Habitat and Range
Moist to wet lawns, clearings, fields, roadsides and ditches; common noxious weed in SW BC, less frequent northward on the coast and in SC BC; introduced from Eurasia.Status Information
Synonyms
Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Ranunculus repens
Ranunculus repens var. degeneratus Schur
Ranunculus repens var. erectus DC.
Ranunculus repens var. glabratus DC.
Ranunculus repens var. linearilobus DC.
Ranunculus repens var. pleniflorus Fernald
Ranunculus repens var. typicus G. Beck
Ranunculus repens var. villosus Lamotte