Southern Wetland Flora
Field Office Guide to Plant Species
Ranunculus bulbosus L.
- Family: Buttercup (Ranunculaceae)
- Flowering: April-June
- Field Marks: This buttercup is distinguished by its thickened, bulb-like base.
- Habitat: Wet areas, often in pastures, old fields, lawns, along streams.
- Habit: Perennial herb with a thickened, bulb-like base.
- Stems: Upright, smooth or hairy, up to 1 1/2 feet tall.
- Leaves: Basal and alternate, hairy or rarely smooth; the basal on long stalks and 3-parted, each part cleft or coarsely toothed; the alternate leaves smaller and less divided.
- Flowers: Few to several, up to 1 inch across, on long, hairy stalks.
- Sepals: 5, green, free from each other, pointing downward, up to 1/3 inch long.
- Petals: 5, bright yellow, waxy on the inner face, obovate, rounded at the tip, up to 2/3 inch long.
- Stamens: Numerous.
- Pistils: Numerous; ovaries superior.
- Fruits: Achenes flattened, up to 1/8 inch long (excluding the beak), with a short, curved beak, crowded into a spherical head.
- Notes: This species is a native of Europe. The thickened base and roots reportedly can be eaten after boiling.
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