''Ranunculus lyallii'' (Mountain buttercup, Mount Cook buttercup, or, although not a
lily, Mount Cook lily), is a species of ''
Ranunculus'' (buttercup),
endemic to
New Zealand, where it occurs in the
South Island
The South Island, also officially named , is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand in surface area, the other being the smaller but more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman ...
and on
Stewart Island
Stewart Island ( mi, Rakiura, ' glowing skies', officially Stewart Island / Rakiura) is New Zealand's third-largest island, located south of the South Island, across the Foveaux Strait. It is a roughly triangular island with a total land ar ...
at altitudes of 700–1,500 m.
[Ranunculaceae Society]
''Ranunculus lyallii''
[Alpine Plants of New Zealand]
/ref> ''R. lyallii'' is the largest species in the genus ''Ranunculus'', growing over a meter in height.
The species was discovered by David Lyall
David Lyall (1817–1895) MD, RN, FLS, was a Scottish botanist who explored Antarctica, New Zealand, the Arctic and North America and was a lifelong friend of Sir Joseph Hooker. He was born in Auchenblae, Kincardineshire, Scotland on 1 June 181 ...
, (1817–1895), a noted Scottish botanist and doctor.
Contemporary botanist Sir Joseph Hooker, (1817–1911), noted in his ''Flora Antarctica'':
Among his many important botanical discoveries in this survey was that of the monarch of all buttercups, the gigantic white-flowered Ranunculus lyallii, the only known species with peltate leaves, the 'water-lily' of the New Zealand shepherds.--Joseph Dalton Hooker (1895) 33 ''Journal of Botany'', p. 209.
It is a herbaceous
Herbaceous plants are vascular plants that have no persistent woody stems above ground. This broad category of plants includes many perennials, and nearly all annuals and biennials.
Definitions of "herb" and "herbaceous"
The fourth edition of t ...
perennial plant growing to 60–100 cm tall (the largest species of buttercup), with a stout rhizome
In botany and dendrology, a rhizome (; , ) is a modified subterranean plant stem that sends out roots and shoots from its nodes. Rhizomes are also called creeping rootstalks or just rootstalks. Rhizomes develop from axillary buds and grow hori ...
. The leaves
A leaf (plural, : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant plant stem, stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", wh ...
are glossy dark green, peltate, 15–40 cm diameter. The flowers are 5–8 cm diameter, with 10–20 white petals and numerous yellow stamen
The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10
Morphology and terminology
A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filame ...
s; flowering is from late spring to early summer.[
Notable sites for the species include ]Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park
Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park is in the South Island of New Zealand. Aoraki / Mount Cook, New Zealand's highest mountain, and the eponymous village lie within the park. The area was gazetted as a national park in October 1953 and consists ...
and in other alpine areas of including the area around Arthur's Pass.
The flower (termed ''Mount Cook lily'' in this usage) was the logo of Mount Cook Airline
Mount Cook Airline was a regional airline based in Christchurch, New Zealand. Formerly part of the Mount Cook Group and latterly a subsidiary of Air New Zealand, it operated scheduled services throughout the country under the Air New Zealand ...
until replaced by Air New Zealand's koru symbol. Other companies connected with the airline used the same logo until the Mount Cook Group was disbanded in 1989.[John McCrystal ''On the Buses in New Zealand: from charabancs to the coaches of today'', Grantham House, Wellington, 2007] The iconic flower has featured on New Zealand Post stamps as early as 1936 and repeatedly in later decades as part of sets relating to conservation and scenery.
Gallery
Image:Ranunculus lyallii foliage.jpg, Foliage
Image:Mount Cook Buttercups with Hooker Valley in the background.jpg, Plants growing in alpine scrub in Aoraki / Mount Cook National Park
References
Sources
Lyall, Andrew; "David Lyall (1817–1895): Botanical explorer of Antarctica, New Zealand, the Arctic and North America" (2010) 26:2 ''The Linnean'' pp. 23–48, Linnean Society of London (July 2010).
{{Taxonbar, from=Q3409878
lyallii
Flora of New Zealand