Weed Information: Ranunculus sardous (buttercup, hairy)
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Ranunculus sardous (buttercup, hairy)

Family: Ranunculaceae

Description

A short annual, the lower leaves simple and rounded; the upper divided into linear palmate lobes. The leaves and stem very hairy. The achenes flattened, smooth except for a short hooked beak at the tip.

Characteristics

Flower Color
  • Yellow-orange
  • Yellow
Inflorescence Type (How the flowers are arranged on the plant)
  • Cyme (simple or branched)
  • Solitary, axillary
  • Solitary, terminal
Number of Petals
  • 5 petals
Petal Separation
  • Completely free to base
Petal Tip
  • Rounded
  • Square
Flower Symmetry
  • Flowers regular
Flower Length (Head length in the Asteraceae)
  • 5 mm (.20 inch)
  • 6 mm (.24 inch)
  • 7 mm (.28 inch)
  • 8 mm (.32 inch)
  • 9 mm (.36 inch)
Flower Width (Head width in the Asteraceae)
  • 1.0 cm (.40 inch)
  • 1.5 cm (.60 inch)
  • 2.0 cm (.80 inch)
Number of Sepals
  • 5 sepals
Sepal Separation
  • Completely free to base
Sepal Tip
  • Pointed
Flower Sex
  • Bisexual (perfect)
Number of Styles
  • More than 10 styles
Number of Stamens
  • more than 10 stamens
Stamens Attached to the Petals
  • Stamens NOT attached to the petals
Stamens Connate (united)
  • Filaments or anthers NOT united

Carpel Separation
  • Carpels separated
Number of Carpels
  • >10 carpels
Ovary Position
  • Superior (hypogynous)
Fruit Type
  • Achene
Fruit Length at Maturity
  • 2 mm (.08 inch)
  • 3 mm (.12 inch)
  • 4 mm (.16 inch)
Fruit Width at Maturity
  • 1 mm (.04 inch) or less
  • 2 mm (.08 inch)
  • 3 mm (.12 inch)
Burs
  • Fruit or seed NOT bur-like
  • Fruit or seed bur-like

Leaf Arrangement
  • Alternate
Leaf Type
  • Palmately dissected
  • Simple (including lobed leaves)
Stipules
  • Lacking
Tendrils
  • Tendrils absent
Venation
  • Palmate
Petiole (leaf stem) Blade Ratio
  • Petiole absent (leaf sessile)
  • Petiole < 25% total length
  • Petiole 25% - 75% total length
  • Petiole > 75% total length
Leaf Length (blade PLUS petiole)
  • 1 - 2 cm (.40 - .80 inch)
  • 2 - 4 cm (.80 - 1.60 inches)
  • 4 - 10 cm (1.60 - 4.0 inches)
  • 1 - 2 dm (4.0 - 8.0 inches)
Leaf Width
  • 5 - 10 mm (.20 - .40 inch)
  • 1 - 2 cm (.40 - .80 inch)
  • 2 - 4 cm (.80 - 1.6 inches)
Leaf Shape (simple leaves only)
  • Orbicular (round)
  • Palmately 3 lobed
  • Palmately 4 - 5 lobed
  • Palmately > 5 lobed
  • Reniform (kidney)
Leaf or Leaflet Margin
  • Crenate
  • Lobed
  • Parted
Leaf or Leaflet Blade Base
  • Acute (cuneate)
  • Cordate
Leaf or Leaflet Tip
  • Acuminate (attenuate)
  • Acute
  • Rounded (obtuse)
Leaf or Leaflet Blade Surface
  • Hirsute
  • Pubescent
Succulence
  • Not succulent

Milky Juice
  • Juice NOT milky (watery)
Woodiness
  • Herbaceous
Spines or Thorns
  • Spines or Thorns ABSENT
Aromatic (vegetative structures)
  • Not aromatic
Life Cycle
  • Annual
Growth Habit (while flowering)
  • Spreading ascending
  • Erect, columnar (narrow)
  • Erect, spherical (bushy)
Plant Height at Maturity
  • 5 - 10 cm (2.0 - 4.0 inches)
  • 1 - 2 dm (4.0 - 8.0 inches)
  • 2 - 4 dm (8.0 - 16.0 inches)
  • 4 - 6 dm (1.3 - 2.0 feet)
Wind Dissemination
  • Not wind disseminated
Moisture Regime
  • Seasonally saturated
  • Mesic
Chlorophyll
  • Present

Stem Cross Section
  • Round
Flowering Stem Leaves
  • Stem leaves greatly reduced
Main Stem Branches
  • Main stem unbranched
  • Main stem branched

Root or Vegetative Propagule
  • Fibrous

US State
  • Alabama
  • Arkansas
  • Florida
  • Georgia
  • Illinois
  • Kansas
  • Kentucky
  • Louisiana
  • Michigan
  • Missouri
  • Mississippi
  • North Carolina
  • New Jersey
  • New York
  • Ohio
  • Pennsylvania
  • South Carolina
  • Tennessee
  • Texas
  • Virginia
  • West Virginia
  • Indiana
  • Maryland
  • California
  • Oklahoma
  • Oregon
  • Washington
Canadian Province or Territory
  • British Columbia
  • New Brunswick
  • Ontario

  • S.W.S.S. Weed ID Guide, 1993 Section Number and Five letter code: 11 RANASA
  • Weeds of Arkansas 1981 (MP 169-5M-3-81) See page: 56
  • Weeds of California and other Western States, 2007 (ISBN 13: 978-1-879906-69-3) See Page: 1394
  • Weeds of Southern Turfgrasses, 1992 Univ. of Florida, Gainesville Publication # SP-79, See page: 170
  • Weeds of the South, University of Georgia 2009, ISBN#0-8203-3046-9 See page: 268
  • Listed as a `Weed` by the Biota of North America Program, 2008 x
  • Listed in the WSSA Composite List of Weeds X
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