Ceratocephala testiculata
Encyclopedia
Ceratocephala testiculata (syn.
Ceratocephala orthoceras, Ranunculus testiculatus) is a flowering plant
that is native to Eurasia
. Common names include bur buttercup and curveseed butterwort. It is very small, usually only about an inch or two tall, but potentially getting up to four inches. The flowers are small and dull yellow. The leaves are hairy and somewhat dissected. It produces a cluster of hard, spiny fruit
s (the 'burs'). Like other members of the buttercup family
, they are poisonous. Where they are present in large numbers, it is usually an indication of excessive disturbance to the land.
The species is considered to be invasive
in the northern and western United States
. In the sagebrush
country, it is one of the first plants to flower after the snow melts.
Synonym (taxonomy)
In scientific nomenclature, a synonym is a scientific name that is or was used for a taxon of organisms that also goes by a different scientific name. For example, Linnaeus was the first to give a scientific name to the Norway spruce, which he called Pinus abies...
Ceratocephala orthoceras, Ranunculus testiculatus) is a flowering plant
Flowering plant
The flowering plants , also known as Angiospermae or Magnoliophyta, are the most diverse group of land plants. Angiosperms are seed-producing plants like the gymnosperms and can be distinguished from the gymnosperms by a series of synapomorphies...
that is native to Eurasia
Eurasia
Eurasia is a continent or supercontinent comprising the traditional continents of Europe and Asia ; covering about 52,990,000 km2 or about 10.6% of the Earth's surface located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres...
. Common names include bur buttercup and curveseed butterwort. It is very small, usually only about an inch or two tall, but potentially getting up to four inches. The flowers are small and dull yellow. The leaves are hairy and somewhat dissected. It produces a cluster of hard, spiny fruit
Fruit
In broad terms, a fruit is a structure of a plant that contains its seeds.The term has different meanings dependent on context. In non-technical usage, such as food preparation, fruit normally means the fleshy seed-associated structures of certain plants that are sweet and edible in the raw state,...
s (the 'burs'). Like other members of the buttercup family
Ranunculaceae
Ranunculaceae are a family of about 1700 species of flowering plants in about 60 genera, distributed worldwide....
, they are poisonous. Where they are present in large numbers, it is usually an indication of excessive disturbance to the land.
The species is considered to be invasive
Invasive species
"Invasive species", or invasive exotics, is a nomenclature term and categorization phrase used for flora and fauna, and for specific restoration-preservation processes in native habitats, with several definitions....
in the northern and western United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. In the sagebrush
Sagebrush
Sagebrush is a common name of a number of shrubby plant species in the genus Artemisia native to western North America;Or, the sagebrush steppe ecoregion, having one or more kinds of sagebrush, bunchgrasses and others;...
country, it is one of the first plants to flower after the snow melts.