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 Leaves, stem and flowers Deaver Herbarium (Northern Arizona University), Usage Rights: CC BY (Attribution) |  Plant Scott Namestnik @http://swbiodiversity.org, Usage Rights: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) | | | | |
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Origin:
Native
Life Cycle:
Annual or perennial Similar Species: Ranunculus macounii, R. recurvatus
General Desc:
An annual or short-lived perennial growing erect with sturdy, hairy, hollow stems that may be branched or single. Basal and stem leaves are divided into 3 leaflets. Small, yellow, shiny flowers with 5 rounded petals grow singly near the top of the plant.
Identification notes: Distinguished by the erect and hollow stems; leaves of 3 leaflets, which divide into toothed segments, ultimate segments narrowly oval, with toothed margins and a pointed tip; flowers delicate, minute, solitary, sepals turned downward.
Height:
To about 3 feet
Habitat Description: Found in moist to damp soils, along streambanks, in marshes, wet meadows, bogs, moist sites in forests, depressions in woodlands, bottomlands (low-lying land near a water source that overflows during floods) and ditchbanks (narrow drainage channels).
Plant Communities:
Riparian
Elevation: 3000 - 8000 feet
Color:
Yellow, yellow to green center
Shape:
Regular not in clusters
Tubular:
N
Flowering Period:
Jun - Sep
Description:
Each flower is 1/8 to 1/4 inch wide with 5 petals. Above the petals are 15 to 25 yellow-tipped stamens encircling a cylindric yellow to green center. Below the petals are 5 green leafy sepals that are longer than the petals and bend away from the flower.
Leaf Color:
Green
Leaf Type:
Compound
Leaf Shape:
Round or oval
Leaf Margin:
Dissected
Leaf Attachment:
Basal and alternate
Leaves Clasp:
N
Hairs:
Leaves and stems
Spines:
N
Leaf Description:
Leaves are oval in outline and deeply divided into 3 narrow oval leaflets with sharp notches. Leaflets are up to 3 inches long and 2 inches wide becoming smaller up the stem. Basal leaves wither early. Stems have bristly, stiff, spreading hairs.
Fruit Color: Light brown to yellowish-brown
Fruit Type: Achene
Fruit Notes: Fruits are held in a cylindric head about 1/2 inch long. Each fruit in the head is 1/16 to 1/8 inch long, smooth, flattened, egg-shaped with a narrow rib on the edge. The tip (beak) of the fruit is short, flat, mostly straight and remains on the fruit.
Seed Notes: There is 1 seed per fruit; the fruit does not split open to release the seed when ripe.
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