Ranunculus hebecarpus
Encyclopedia
Ranunculus hebecarpus is a species of buttercup
known by the common name delicate buttercup. It is native to western North America, including several of the western United States and Baja California
, where it grows in grassland, woodland, and chaparral
habitat. It is an annual herb producing a slender, hairy stem a few centimeters high or up to 30 centimeters tall. The hairy leaves are borne on long petioles
. Their blades are deeply lobed or divided into three leaflets, often with toothed or lobed edges. Flowers have 3 to 5 tiny yellow petals just 1 or 2 millimeters long studded on the bulbous nectary; some flowers lack petals. The plant is most easily identified in its fruiting stage, when the infructescence
is a spherical cluster of several tiny disc-shaped achene
s with compressed, bristly sides.
Ranunculus
Ranunculus is a large genus of about 600 species of plants in the Ranunculaceae. Members of the genus include the buttercups, spearworts, water crowfoots and the lesser celandine....
known by the common name delicate buttercup. It is native to western North America, including several of the western United States and Baja California
Baja California
Baja California officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is both the northernmost and westernmost state of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1953, the area was known as the North...
, where it grows in grassland, woodland, and chaparral
Chaparral
Chaparral is a shrubland or heathland plant community found primarily in the U.S. state of California and in the northern portion of the Baja California peninsula, Mexico...
habitat. It is an annual herb producing a slender, hairy stem a few centimeters high or up to 30 centimeters tall. The hairy leaves are borne on long petioles
Petiole (botany)
In botany, the petiole is the stalk attaching the leaf blade to the stem. The petiole usually has the same internal structure as the stem. Outgrowths appearing on each side of the petiole are called stipules. Leaves lacking a petiole are called sessile, or clasping when they partly surround the...
. Their blades are deeply lobed or divided into three leaflets, often with toothed or lobed edges. Flowers have 3 to 5 tiny yellow petals just 1 or 2 millimeters long studded on the bulbous nectary; some flowers lack petals. The plant is most easily identified in its fruiting stage, when the infructescence
Infructescence
Infructescence is defined as the ensemble of fruits derived from ovaries of an inflorescence, structured according to the inflorescence scheme....
is a spherical cluster of several tiny disc-shaped achene
Achene
An achene is a type of simple dry fruit produced by many species of flowering plants. Achenes are monocarpellate and indehiscent...
s with compressed, bristly sides.