Al Schneider's Rocky Mountains Plant Descriptions

Eschscholtz's Buttercup
Ranunculus eschscholtzii
Buttercup family (Ranunculaceae)

Eschscholtz's Buttercup at first glance is almost identical to Ranunculus adoneus, and they are found in the same habitats. Eschscholtz's Buttercup is a somewhat shorter, more compact plant, with not finely divided, and flowers that have only 5 petals. Because of the shape of Ranunculus flowers, bees do not pollinate them very well, but the bees do leave an abundance of pollen on the glossy petals. Dew and rain slide off the slick, shiny surface carrying the pollen to the below to fertilize them. Dr. Johann Friedrich Gustav von Eschscholtz (1793-1831) was a German Surgeon and explorer who accompanied Kotzebue on his 1815-1818 and 1823-1826 expeditions around the world.


©2008 Walter Siegmund

Description

to 10" tall, stems and erect. , divided into 3 wide , with the often or again, the whole to about 1" long and 2" wide. similar to but with short , or the stem. 5, green or purple, 1/6 - 1/4" long, hairy or . Petals 5, yellow, about 1" across. a or hairy .

Field Marks

Compact Buttercup with large, bright yellow flowers and leaves. Often found down slope from retreating snow banks.

© Al Schneider

A clasping leaf suroundes part of all of the stem.

A perennial plant lives and blooms for many years.

cauline leaves -- leaves growing on a stem and especially on the upper part.

lobe -- A rounded parts of a leaf (or other organ).

A herb is a plant whose stems die back to the ground in the winter.

lateral -- attached to the side of an organ, for instance leaves or branches on a stem.

corolla -- The name for all the petals of a flower taken together.

Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom.

A simple leaf blade is one that is not divided into separate leaflets.

basal -- at the base, situated or attached at the base.

achene -- a type of simple dry fruit produced by many species of flowering plants. For example, a rose hip holds a few achenes.

Like the teeth on a saw, leaves and other surfaces can have toothed edges.

fruit -- any seed-bearing structure in flowering plants. It is formed from the ovary after flowering.

basal leaves -- a leaf that grows lowest on the stem of a plant.

petiole -- the stalk of a leaf.

stigma - The tip of a pistil that receives the pollen.

blade -- Just the flat part of a leaf. Not the stem.

glabrous -- smooth, glossy, having no bristles or hair-like structures. Bald.

lobe -- Being divided by clefts.