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Low spearwort

Ranunculus pusillus

Also called Weak Buttercup

Low spearwort
Photo: Robert H. Mohlenbrock, Public domain
Family
Ranunculaceae (Buttercup family)
Grows as
Aquatic, Perennial
Safety
Toxic to cats and dogs (ASPCA).
Native range
NW. California, C. & E. U.S.A.
Climate
temperate

About

Ranunculus pusillus, commonly called low spearwort, is a species of flowering plant in the buttercup family (Ranunculaceae). It is native to much of the eastern United States from New York to Florida and west to Texas; it is also known in California. It grows in wet habitat, where it is semi-aquatic growing partially submerged or terrestrially on muddy substrates.

It is a perennial herb producing a slender decumbent to erect stem up to half a meter in length. It is generally hairless in texture. Leaves have blades which are lance-shaped to oval and borne on short petioles. The flower has one to three tiny yellow petals no more than 2 millimeters (0.079 in) long around a central receptacle with many stamens and pistils. Flowers are produced in the spring. The fruit is an achene borne in a spherical cluster of 18 or more.

Other Ranunculus plants

Littleleaf buttercup · Sand Buttercup · Aconite-leaf buttercup · Ranunculus acraeus · Meadow buttercup · Alpine buttercup · Fall buttercup · Plantainleaf buttercup · Allegheny Mountain buttercup · Allen's buttercup · Ranunculus altus · Waterplantain spearwort

Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Ranunculus pusillus by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts are shared under the same licence.

Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.

Pet safety from the ASPCA toxic and non-toxic plant lists.

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