''Ranunculus lanuginosus'', commonly known as the wooly buttercup and downy buttercup, 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 ...

perennial In horticulture, the term perennial ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the year") is used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. It has thus been defined as a plant that lives more than 2 years. The term is also ...

plant species in the family

Ranunculaceae Ranunculaceae (, buttercup or crowfoot family; Latin "little frog", from "frog") is a family (biology), family of over 2,000 known species of flowering plants in 43 genera, distributed worldwide. The largest genera are ''Ranunculus'' (600 spec ...

, that grows in some parts of

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

Etymology

The plant's

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

name comes from a Latin term ''rana'', which means "frog", referring to the buttercup's typical moist and shaded habitats. On the other hand, species' name ''lanuginosus'' derives from a Latin word ''lanugo'', which is translated as "downy" and refers to the plant's stem, covered with a layer of fine hair.

Taxonomy

This species was first described by Swedish naturalist

Carl Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné,#Blunt, Blunt (2004), p. 171. was a Swedish biologist and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the modern system of naming o ...

in his famous work ''Species plantarum'' in 1753. There are a few recognized

varieties Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

of this species: * ''Ranunculus lanuginosus'' var. ''geraniifolius'' DC., 1817 * ''Ranunculus lanuginosus'' var. ''lanuginosus'' * ''Ranunculus lanuginosus'' var. ''parvulus'' DC., 1824 * ''Ranunculus lanuginosus'' var. ''umbrosus'' (Ten. & Guss.) P.Fourn., 1936

Description

''Ranunculus lanuginosus'' is herbaceous and perennial

buttercup ''Ranunculus'' is a large genus of about 1750 species of flowering plants in the family Ranunculaceae. Members of the genus are known as buttercups, spearworts and water crowfoots. The genus is distributed worldwide, primarily in temperate an ...

that can reach from 30 to 80 centimetres of height. It is usually an upright-growing and spread out plant that has stem with dense layer of

trichome Trichomes (; ) are fine outgrowths or appendages on plants, algae, lichens, and certain protists. They are of diverse structure and function. Examples are hairs, glandular hairs, scales, and papillae. A covering of any kind of hair on a plant ...

s. This species' stem is round and thick, as well as hollow. Its basal leaves have long leafstalk and are

palmately The following terms are used to describe leaf plant morphology, morphology in the description and taxonomy (biology), taxonomy of plants. Leaves may be simple (that is, the leaf blade or 'lamina' is undivided) or compound (that is, the leaf blade ...

lobed The following terms are used to describe leaf plant morphology, morphology in the description and taxonomy (biology), taxonomy of plants. Leaves may be simple (that is, the leaf blade or 'lamina' is undivided) or compound (that is, the leaf blade ...

; with five segments being

ovate Ovate may refer to: * Ovate (egg-shaped) leaves, tepals, or other botanical parts *Ovate, a type of prehistoric stone hand axe * Ovates, one of three ranks of membership in the Welsh Gorsedd * Vates or ovate, a term for ancient Celtic bards ...

and hirsute, while having double serrated margin. Upper stem leaves are sessile and palmately lobed, with wide segments. In most cases, leaves measure 12 centimetres in length and 8 centimetres in width. ''Ranunculus lanuginosus'' is an

entomophilous Entomophily or insect pollination is a form of pollination whereby pollen of plants, especially but not only of flowering plants, is distributed by insects. Flowers pollinated by insects typically advertise themselves with bright colours, somet ...

species that flowers between May and August. This buttercup has yellow to orange flowers with darker middle area and five floral leaves in both corolla and calyx. Each flower measures from 2 to 2.5 centimetres. Calyx has hairy

sepal A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 Etymology The term ''sepalum'' ...

s. The plant's fruit is so-called

achene An achene (; ), also sometimes called akene and occasionally achenium or achenocarp, is a type of simple fruit, simple dry fruits, dry fruit produced by many species of flowering plants. Achenes are monocarpellate (formed from one carpel) and Dehi ...

; it is hairless and laterally squeezed, while it ends with long and curved rostrum. As many other buttercups, wooly buttercup is toxic.

Distribution

''Ranunculus lanuginosus'' is a European plant species that occurs in middle and southern Europe, as well as in

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region spanning Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is situated between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, comprising parts of Southern Russia, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. The Caucasus Mountains, i ...

. ''R. lanuginosus'' is a

native species In biogeography, a native species is indigenous to a given region or ecosystem if its presence in that region is the result of only local natural evolution (though often popularised as "with no human intervention") during history. The term is equi ...

of Albania, Austria, Baltic States, Bulgaria, Corsica, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Romania, Sardinia, Sicilia, Switzerland, Turkey (in Europe), Ukraine and former Yugoslavian countries. This relatively common buttercup species can be found growing in various shaded forests with dense

undergrowth In forestry and ecology, understory (American English), or understorey (Commonwealth English), also known as underbrush or undergrowth, includes plant life growing beneath the forest canopy without penetrating it to any great extent, but above ...

, as well as in other similar shaded and humid places. The Raunkiær system classifies it as a hemicryptophyte species. ''Ranunculus lanuginosus'' is primarily a lowland species that only rarely grows in

subalpine Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The alpine climate in these regions strongly affects the ecosystem because temperatures fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is a crucial f ...

zone with maximal elevations of around 1,400.

Gallery

Ranunculus spp Sturm48.jpg Ranunculus lanuginosus sl1.jpg Ranunculus lanuginosus sl8.jpg Ranunculus lanuginosus PID1800-1.jpg Ranunculus lanuginosus kz3.JPG Ranunculus lanuginosus sl2.jpg Ranunculus lanuginosus Villaleinikki H6187 C.jpg Ranunculus lanuginosus F.jpg

References

External links

* * {{Taxonbar, from=Q164248 lanuginosus Flora of Europe