Ranunculaceae, the crowfoot or buttercup family.
Description:
Plant:
Branching, upright plant, 1'-2' tall with small-petaled, yellow flowers, palmately lobed,
mostly basal leaves. Perennial.
Flowers:
Yellow, 1/4"-3/8", with five petals that are small compared to the center of the flower,
five sepals, larger than the petals, about 20 stamens in a single ring.
Flower has a large, swollen center that grows out rapidly to form a typical buttercup seed
cluster.
Flowers in small, cymose clusters.
Leaves:
Basal and alternate, with a lot of variation on the same plant.
Lower leaves round to kidney shaped, petioled, and usually deeply
3-lobed, though there are often some that are merely toothed.
Upper leaves nearly sessile, bract-like beneath flowers, and dissected into narrow lobes
further down.
Fruit:
An ovoid cluster of small, seed-like fruits (achenes).
The young achenes are shiny, and have a very small beak.
These characteristics distinguish this plant from some similar species.
Blooming:
Late April-June
Habitat:
Damp woods, clearings.
Comments:
A rather unprepossessing, native buttercup, the flowers appearing rather dwarfed.
Also called Kidney-leafed Buttercup and Little-leaf buttercup.
One of several small-flowered buttercups in our area, distinguished by details of the
fruit, leaves and flowers.
The juice is acrid, and can cause blistering of the skin if left in contact for a few
minutes.
Where to find it:
A few open spots in the woods. Not extremely common here.