Ranunculus canus var. ludovicianus

Leaf blades: ultimate segments lanceolate to oblong-lanceolate, margins entire or toothed, apex acute or rounded-acute. Flowers: petals 13-17.

Flowering spring-summer (Mar-Aug). Meadows; 1000-2300 m; Calif.

Ranunculus canus var. ludovicianus is endemic to the Transverse Ranges of California. Pending further study, I am reluctantly following L. D. Benson's (1948) placement of this taxon. The plants have the floral characters of R . californicus and have often been included in that species. Indeed, forms of R . californicus from the foothills west of the San Joaquin Valley may also have large achenes with deltate beaks. Those plants differ from R . canus var. ludovicianus only in their ovate leaf segments. Further study of the group is much needed.