''Ranunculus parviflorus'' is a species of
buttercup
''Ranunculus'' is a large genus of about almost 1700 to more than 1800 species of flowering plants in the family Ranunculaceae. Members of the genus are known as buttercups, spearworts and water crowfoots.
The genus is distributed in Europe, ...
known by the common name smallflower buttercup. It is native to Europe, but it is known on other areas of the world as an
introduced species
An introduced species, alien species, exotic species, adventive species, immigrant species, foreign species, non-indigenous species, or non-native species is a species living outside its native distributional range, but which has arrived there ...
and sometimes a roadside weed, for example, in parts of Australia and the United States.
Description
It is an annual herb producing a mostly erect stem up to 40 centimeters in maximum height. It is coated in soft hairs. The leaves have rounded blades which are toothed, deeply cut, or divided into lobes, which in turn are toothed. The leaves are borne on long
petioles, the longest near the base of the plant. Flowers are 3 to 6 mm across and occur singly in leaf axils. Each flower has a few tiny yellow petals no more than 2 millimeters long; some flowers lack petals. The sepals are bent backwards.
[Parnell, J. and Curtis, T. 2012. ''Webb's An Irish Flora.'' Cork University Press. ] The fruit is an
achene
An achene (; ), also sometimes called akene and occasionally achenium or achenocarp, is a type of simple dry fruit produced by many species of flowering plants. Achenes are monocarpellate (formed from one carpel) and indehiscent (they do not ope ...
borne in a spherical cluster of usually 10 to 20.
Habitat
In Ireland found in fields of some southern counties, becoming rarer.
References
External links
Jepson Manual TreatmentPhoto gallery
papulentus
Plants described in 1759
Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus
{{Ranunculales-stub