Ranunculus parviflorus
Encyclopedia
Ranunculus parviflorus is a species of buttercup
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 smallflower buttercup. It is native to Europe, but it is known on other areas of the world as an introduced species
Introduced species
An introduced species — or neozoon, alien, exotic, non-indigenous, or non-native species, or simply an introduction, is a species living outside its indigenous or native distributional range, and has arrived in an ecosystem or plant community by human activity, either deliberate or accidental...

 and sometimes a roadside weed, for example, in parts of Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

 and the United States. It is an annual herb producing a mostly erect stem up to 40 centimeters in maximum height. It is coated in soft hairs. The leaves have rounded blades which are toothed, deeply cut, or divided into lobes, which in turn are toothed. The 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...

, the longest near the base of the plant. Flowers occur singly in leaf axils. Each flower has a few tiny yellow petals no more than 2 millimeters long; some flowers lack petals. The fruit is an achene
Achene
An achene is a type of simple dry fruit produced by many species of flowering plants. Achenes are monocarpellate and indehiscent...

borne in a spherical cluster of usually 10 to 20.

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