Ranunculus cymbalaria (Alkali Buttercup, Desert Buttercup)

7/5/02 Bodie State Historic Park, Eastern Sierra, Mono County, CA

LIFE LIST NOTES:

COMMON NAME: Alkali Buttercup, Desert Buttercup

SPECIES: Ranunculus cymbalaria

FAMILY: Ranunculaceae (Buttercup Family)

LIFE LIST DATE: 7/5/2002

LOCATION: Growing along edge of a pool of water in the Chinatown ruins at Bodie State Historic Park, Eastern Sierra, Mono County, CA

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Treatment from The Jepson Manual (1993):

Perennial 3–20(30) cm, often scapose, generally from stolons

Stem generally erect, simple; hairs 0–sparse

Leaves: petioles 1.5–8 cm, blades 0.5–2.5 cm, ovate to reniform, generally crenate

Flower: receptacle glabrous to puberulent; sepals 2–5 mm; petals 5–8, 4–8 mm, 2–3 mm wide

Fruits many; cluster cylindric; body 1–2 mm, sides ± 1 mm wide, striate to ridged, glabrous, back rounded; beak 0.5–1 mm, ± straight

Ecology: Meadows, streambanks, marshes, pond margins

Elevation: 200–3200 m.  

Bioregional distribution: Northwestern California (except North Coast), Cascade Range, Sierra Nevada, e South Coast, Transverse Ranges, Peninsular Ranges, Great Basin Floristic Province, Mojave Desert 

Distribution outside California: to w Canada, South Dakota, Mexico, also S.America

Flowering time: Jun–Aug

Other vars. in Rocky Mtns, Asia

Horticultural information: WET: 1, 2, 3, 7, 8, 10, 11, 14, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23 &SUN: 4, 5, 6, 15, 16, 17, 24.