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| Ranunculus cardiophyllus
Hook. |
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| |
| TAXONOMY |
| |
| Family: |
Ranunculaceae |
| Genus: |
Ranunculus |
| |
| Species Synonyms: |
Ranunculus cardiophyllus var. subsagittatus
(Gray) L. Benson
Ranunculus cardiophyllus var. typicus
L. Benson
Ranunculus pedatifidus var. cardiophyllus
(Hook.) Britt. |
| Common Names: |
heartleaf buttercup |
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| DISTRIBUTION |
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| Canada: |
British Columbia – Alberta – southwestern
Saskatchewan |
| Saskatchewan: |
southwestern Saskatchewan; Cypress Hills |
| Ecoregion: |
Cypress Upland |
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| HABITAT |
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| Saskatchewan: |
open upland fescue grasslands, grassy ravine slopes,
and open aspen woods |
| Associated Species: |
blue violet, mat muhly |
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| RARITY STATUS |
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Provincial
Status According
to Harms (2003): |
Vulnerable |
| Nature Conservancy
Status: |
G4G5 S1S2 |
Saskatchewan
Species at
Risk Status: |
None |
| COSEWIC Status:
|
None |
| |
| Heartleaf buttercup
is vulnerable because it is rare in Saskatchewan and is limited to the Cypress
Hills region of the province. Most local populations are small and possible
threats have been identified for this species. |
| |
| SPECIES
DESCRIPTION |
| |
| Height: |
10 – 50 cm |
| Roots: |
cylindrical, 1 – 3 mm thick |
| Stems: |
little branched, erect, long-hairy or hairless,
stout |
| Leaves: |
basal leaves persistent, stalked, blades 2 –
7 cm long, 2 – 4.5 cm wide, usually undivided, oval to elliptic, base
heart-shaped to obtuse, occasionally lobed, margin round-toothed; stem leaves
deeply 3 – 7-dissected and different from basal leaves, short-stalked
to sessile, divisions linear |
| Inflorescence: |
flowers solitary to few per stem; stalks long-hairy |
| Flowers: |
receptacle grey-hairy; sepals 5 – 8 mm long,
long-hairy below; petals 5 – 10, 5 – 13 mm long; nectary scale
hairy or hairless; stamens numerous; carpels numerous on a receptacle |
| Fruits: |
receptacle elongating into an ovoid or cylindrical
head of one-seeded fruits; fruits finely grey-hairy, beak narrowly triangular |
| |
| RANUNCULUS
KEY FOR SPECIES FOUND IN SASKATCHEWAN |
| |
| 1 Petals white; aquatic plants with
all leaves submersed |
R. aquatilis var. diffusa |
| 1 Petals yellow; mostly terrestrial
plants or not strictly aquatic (except R. gmelinii) |
2 |
| |
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2 Fruits with 3 or 4 longitudinal
nerves; leaves round-toothed; plants with runners
|
R. cymbalaria |
| 2 Fruits not nerved longitudinally;
leaves various; plants without runners |
3 |
| |
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| 3 Basal leaves entire to slightly
lobed, upper leaves similar or absent |
4 |
| 3 Basal leaves distinctly toothed,
lobed or divided OR if entire, stem leaves deeply lobed or cleft and unlike
the basal leaves OR basal leaves absent |
5 |
| |
|
| 4 Leaves linear and essentially bladeless
or blades linear |
R. flammula var. reptans |
| 4 Leaves with well-developed lance-shaped
to oval blades |
R. flammula var. ovalis |
| |
|
| 5 Sepals 3 or 4; leaves kidney-shaped |
6 |
| 5 Sepals 5; leaves of various shapes |
7 |
| |
|
| 6 Plants at least partially aquatic,
< 5 cm high; leaves to 1 cm wide; fruits not constricted, nearly beakless |
R. hyperboreus var. hyperboreus |
| 6 Plants terrestrial, 10 – 20
cm high; leaves to 5 cm wide; fruits constricted near the middle, beak hooked |
R. lapponicus |
| |
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| 7 Plants strictly aquatic, weak stems
floating |
R. gmelinii |
| 7 Plants not strictly aquatic |
8 |
| |
|
| 8 Beaks of fruits minute, fruit corky-thickened
towards base; plant fleshy; lower leaves stalked |
R. sceleratus |
| 8 Beaks of fruits distinct, fruit
not corky-thickened towards base; plants not fleshy; lower leaves more or
less all sessile |
9 |
| |
|
| 9 Basal leaves entire to round-toothed
or shallowly 3 – 5-lobed, stem leaves cleft or divided |
10 |
| 9 Basal leaves deeply dissected, the
lobes often toothed |
15 |
| |
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| 10 Hairs on sepals reddish-brown,
long; stems usually 1-flowered |
R. nivalis |
| 10 Sepals hairless or white-hairy;
stems usually 2 – many-flowered |
11 |
| |
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| 11 Fruiting heads cylindrical |
12 |
| 11 Fruiting heads nearly round |
13 |
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| 12 Fruits to 150 per aggregate, finely
hairy; plants hairy; petals 5 – 9 mm long |
R. glaberrimus var. ellipticus |
| 12 Fruits to 50 per aggregate, hairless;
plants hairless; petals 6 – 15 mm long |
R. rhomboideus |
| |
|
| 13 Petals 1.5 – 3 mm long; basal
leaves kidney-shaped |
R. abortivus |
| 13 Petals greater than 3 mm long;
basal leaves circular or heart-shaped |
14 |
| |
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| 14 Flower stalks stout; petals 8 –
15 mm long; stems and leaves long-hairy |
R. cardiophyllus |
| 14 Flower stalks slender; petals 3
– 8 mm long; stems and leaves nearly hairless |
R. inamoenus var. inamoenus |
| |
|
| 15 Fruits slightly flattened, beaks
slender; receptacle in fruit 4 times its length in flower |
R. pedatifidus var. affinis |
| 15 Fruits very strongly flattened,
beaks stout; receptacle in fruit < 3 times its length in flower |
16 |
| |
|
| 16 Petals 5 – 15 mm long, noticeably
longer than sepals; sepals spreading; terminal segment of larger leaves
sessile |
R. acris var. acris |
| 16 Petals 4 – 5 mm long, shorter
than or barely surpassing sepals; sepals reflexed; terminal segment of larger
leaves stalked |
17 |
| |
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| 17 Stems reclining or prostrate, often
rooting at lower nodes; petals equalling or longer than sepals, deep yellow;
sepals purplish; heads of fruits ovoid to round |
R. macounii |
| 17 Stems erect, not rooting at the
nodes; petals shorter than sepals, pale yellow; sepals yellowish; heads
of fruits cylindrical |
R. pensylvanicus |
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