Ranunculus arizonicus

Stems erect, 14-38 cm, sparsely pilose, each with 2-12 flowers. Roots cylindric, 1-2.5 mm thick. Basal leaves deciduous, all (except sometimes innermost) shed before anthesis, leaving dense brush of fibers, blades semicircular to reniform, outer leaves undivided, inner 5-7-parted, 3.2-4 × 4-6.2 cm, base obtuse to cordate, margins entire or toothed, apices of segments acute to rounded. Flowers: pedicels pubescent or glabrous; receptacle canescent; sepals 3-5 × 1-3 mm, abaxially glabrous or sparsely pilose, hairs colorless; petals 5(-11), 7-15 × 2-6 mm; nectary scale ciliate. Heads of achenes ovoid or cylindric, 4-10 × 4-6 mm; achenes 1.8-2.5 × 1.5-2 mm, finely and densely canescent; beak subulate, straight, 0.8-1.2 mm, brittle and often broken.

Flowering summer (Jul-Sep). Stream banks; 1500-2400 m; Ariz., N.Mex.; Mexico (Sonora, Chihuahua, and Durango).

Kearney and Peebles 1969, McDougall 1973, Martin and Hutchins 1980

Duration: Perennial Nativity: Native Lifeform: Forb/Herb General: Herbaceous perennials, arising from fleshy or tuberous roots, to 40 cm tall. Leaves: Basal leaves entire, 3-lobed, 3-parted, or pinnately compound, the lobes or leaves thin and linear, cauline leaves alternate or opposite, herbage sparsely hairy. Flowers: Yellow, petals 5, oblanceolate to ovate, each bearing a scale-covered nectariferous pit at the base of the blade, pistils 5-many, the petals 8-9 mm long. Fruits: Achenes obovoid, flattened obovoid, or discoid, with a persistent beak. Ecology: Found in dry soils from 5,000-7,000 ft (1524-2134 m); flowering summer. Notes: One of the few species in this genus found in dry habitats. This species looks somewhat like a daisy with thin, sparse leaves and protruding stamens. The petals are glossy, and bright yellow, and the stamens and anthers are bright yellow as well. Ethnobotany: Unknown Etymology: Ranunculus is from Latin rana, for little frog, while arizonicus means of or from Arizona. Synonyms: None Editor: LCrumbacher, 2011