Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Ranunculales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (2/10/25):
Ranunculus acris var. acris
FAMILY
Ranunculaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Check out EDDMapS.org to see where this has been reported.
Learn more about Tall Buttercup from the Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Ranunculus acris var. acris
FAMILY
Ranunculaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Ranunculus acris var. acris
INCLUDED WITHIN Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 3 (1997)
Ranunculus acris
INCLUDED WITHIN Aquatic & Wetland Plants of Southeastern US (Godfrey & Wooten, 1979 & 1981)
Ranunculus acris
INCLUDED WITHIN VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 076-13-016:
Ranunculus acris FAMILY Ranunculaceae
INCLUDED WITHIN Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Ranunculus acris
COMMON NAME:
Tall Buttercup, Bitter Buttercup
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
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USDA / Selected Weeds of the US. 1970 swus_page_187
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C.A.M. Lindman wik_ranunculus_acris
An illustration from Lindman's Bilder ur Nordens Flora, in the public domain.
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JK Marlow jkm150425_867
April Sevier County TN
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Larger leaves appearing (3-)5-parted, all of the segments sessile, per Weakley's Flora (2012).
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JK Marlow jkm150425_874
April Sevier County TN
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
)
JK Marlow jkm150425_878
April Sevier County TN
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
)
JK Marlow jkm150425_880
April Sevier County TN
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
)
JK Marlow jkm150425_882
April Sevier County TN
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
)
JK Marlow jkm120523_164
May Graham County NC
Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest
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JK Marlow jkm120523_166
May Graham County NC
Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest
Sepals spreading, 4-6mm long, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
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JK Marlow jkm120523_171
May Graham County NC
Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest
Cauline leaves generally similar to basal but smaller and often less divided, per Weakley's Flora.
)
JK Marlow jkm120523_175
May Graham County NC
Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest
Leaves to 4" wide, palmately divided into 5 or 7 unstalked narrow segments, per Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998).
)
JK Marlow jkm150505_918
May Jackson County NC
Coarse erect perennial to 1.2m tall. Flowers numerous in an open inflorescence, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (2/10/25):
Ranunculus acris var. acris
FAMILY
Ranunculaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Ranunculus acris var. acris
FAMILY
Ranunculaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Ranunculus acris var. acris
INCLUDED WITHIN
Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 3
Ranunculus acris
INCLUDED WITHIN
Aquatic & Wetland Plants of Southeastern US (Godfrey & Wooten, 1979 & 1981)
Ranunculus acris
INCLUDED WITHIN
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 076-13-016:
Ranunculus acris
FAMILY
Ranunculaceae
INCLUDED WITHIN
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Ranunculus acris
3075
Forb
Perennial
Habitat: Pastures, fields, roadsides, lawns, disturbed areas, per Weakley's Flora
Non-native: Europe
Uncommon in Carolina Mountains & NC Piedmont (rare elsewhere in GA-NC-SC)
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
LEAVES:
Simple: Larger leaves appearing (3-)5-parted, all segments sessile
Basal & alternate
FLOWER:
Spring/Summer
Yellow/Whitish
Radially symmetrical
3-5 spreading sepals
5 petals
Numerous stamens
Superior ovary
Bisexual
Flowers numerous, in an open inflorescence
FRUIT:
Spring/Summer
Aggregate of achenes
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Wildflowers of the Atlantic Southeast (Cotterman, Waitt, & Weakley, 2019) p261
- Wild Flowers of NC, 2nd edition (Justice, Bell, & Lindsey, 2005) p077
- Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998) p049
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