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Species Image Gallery (opens in a new window) |
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| THE BUTTERCUP FAMILY | |||||||||
| The buttercup family is common in temperate and boreal regions of the Northern Hemisphere. These plants are usually herbs, but may also be vines or shrubs. The stems do not have spines or prickles. The stem leaves are alternate or occasionally opposite or whorled. The leaves can be simple or compound but are at least lobed in the majority of species. The margins may be entire or toothed. The flowers are in several different types of clusters, from solitary flowers to branched, unbranched or umbrella-like groups. The flowers are commonly lacking petals and have coloured sepals. One to several whorls of bracts may be present below the flowers. The ovary consists of several separate carpels which mature to form an aggregate fruit or berry. The aggregates may be of pods or of single-seeded fruits that resemble seeds. | |||||||||
| GRACEFUL BUTTERCUP | |||||||||
| LATIN NAME: Ranunculus inamoenus var. inamoenus | |||||||||
| WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE? | |||||||||
| Graceful buttercup grows as tall as 30 cm from slender roots. The basal leaves are persistent and are generally undivided; though in some plants they may be three to five-lobed. The stem leaves are different from the basal leaves and are divided into three narrow segments. There are three to seven flowers per stem. The receptacle elongates in to form a head in fruit. The flowers are yellow with petals up to two times as long as the sepals. The fruits are grey-hairy or hairless. | |||||||||
| WHERE DOES IT GROW? | |||||||||
| Graceful buttercup grows on moist grassy ravine slopes, lakeshores, and in open woods. | |||||||||
| WHERE IS IT FOUND IN SASKATCHEWAN? | |||||||||
| This plant is found in southwestern Saskatchewan in the Cypress Upland and Mixed Grassland ecoregions. | |||||||||
| WHY IS IT RARE? | |||||||||
| Graceful buttercup is endangered because of rarity in Saskatchewan. It is regionally restricted to the southwestern part of the province. Possible threats have been identified for this species. | |||||||||
| HOW TO IDENTIFY HEARTLEAF BUTTERCUP | |||||||||
| * Are the basal and stem leaves different? * Are the fruits hairless or grey-hairy and on elongated receptacles? * Are there three to seven flowers per stem? * Did you find it in southwestern Saskatchewan? | |||||||||
If you answered yes to all of these questions, you may have found graceful buttercup! |
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