''Ranunculus fluitans'' (the river water-crowfoot,) 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, ...

. It is a

perennial A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wid ...

water plant, which when in favourable conditions (such as fast flowing water,) can grow up to 6 m (20 ft) height.J. S. Rodwell; ''British Plant Communities: Woodlands and Scrub'' Cambridge University Press, 1990

Description

''Ranunculus fluitans'' has no floating leaves, instead it has long and narrow, tassel-like segments. Reaching up to 30 cm (12 in) long. The long, slender stems can have up to two flower stems. The white flowers are held above the water level, they are around 2–3 cm across. They are daisy-like, with 6–8 overlapping petals around a central yellow area. It blooms in June, then the rounded seed heads become hairless fruits. It is similar in form to '' Ranunculus trichophyllus'' (thread-leaved water-crowfoot), principal differences being flower petal number- thread-leaved has only 5 petals and shorter leaves- and different preferred habitat- thread-leaved prefers slower flowing waters.

Taxonomy

It was formally described by the French naturalist and botanist

Jean-Baptiste Lamarck Jean-Baptiste Pierre Antoine de Monet, chevalier de Lamarck (1 August 1744 – 18 December 1829), often known simply as Lamarck (; ), was a French naturalist, biologist, academic, and soldier. He was an early proponent of the idea that biolo ...

in his book 'Flore françoise' Vol.3 on page 184 in 1779. The species epithet ''fluitans'' is Latin for floating.

Distribution

It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

to western

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

Range

It can be found in North Macedonia, Ireland, the United Kingdom, southern Sweden,

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

, Switzerland,

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

, the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...

Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the ...

and

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. It grows in fast flowing waters of the UK, within

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

and

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

Ecology

A ''Ranunculus fluitans community'' or

Ranunculion fluitantis Ranunculetum fluitantis is one of the 24 Aquatic plant communities A plant community is a collection or association of plant species within a designated geographical unit, which forms a relatively uniform patch, distinguishable from neighboring ...

, defines a British plant community comprising stands of submerged vegetation dominated by clumps of Crowfoot. It is thought to be Vulnerable in Sweden and

Near Threatened A near-threatened species is a species which has been categorized as "Near Threatened" (NT) by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as that may be vulnerable to endangerment in the near future, but it does not currently qualify f ...

in Switzerland, but elsewhere it is widespread and abundant.

Culture

William Barnes William Barnes (22 February 1801 – 7 October 1886) was an English polymath, writer, poet, philologist, priest, mathematician, engraving artist and inventor. He wrote over 800 poems, some in Dorset dialect, and much other work, including a co ...

(1801–1886) an English writer, poet and Church of England priest, referred to the plant in his poem 'The Water Crowfoot'.

O small feac'd flow'r that now dost bloom To stud wi'white the shallow Frome, An' leave the clote to spread his flow'r On darksome pools o' stwoneless Stour.S. Gatrell

This refers to the River Frome's being at danger from man's interference.

References

External links

* * fluitans Flora of Europe Flora of the United Kingdom Flora of Sweden Flora of Germany Flora of Poland Flora of Switzerland Flora of Austria Flora of the Czech Republic Flora of Slovenia Flora of Slovakia Flora of Hungary Flora of Italy Least concern plants Plants described in 1779 {{Ranunculales-stub