Today I thought we'd take a look at two common, native, small-flowered Buttercups, Ranunculus abortivus (Small-flowered or Kidney-leaf Buttercup) and Ranunculus micranthus (Rock Buttercup). In overall aspect, these two are strikingly similar:
Looking at them side by side, you can see how it's kind of a "Patty Duke Show" situation, but with buttercups:
(Left: R. abortivus by @easter22; right: R. micranthus by @sarcasticdungbeetle)
(Left: Basal rosette of R. abortivus by @sam727, right: Basal rosette of R. micranthus by @tanyuu)
Even so, you might be able to visually detect a key difference from the above photos: the foliage and stems of Ranunculus micranthus appears more grayish-green due to the presence of long, soft hairs on the stem and petioles, and the light pubescence on the leaves. Ranunculus abortivus tends to be darker or deeper green, because its stems, petioles, and foliage are all glabrous (hairless). This is probably the easiest ways to tell the two apart vegetatively; here are some closeups:
(Left: glabrous stem of R. abortivus by @emily7; right: softly hairy stem of R. micranthus by @vvoelker)
As you become more familiar with these two, you'll notice a few more differences:
For further reading and additional comparison notes, the website Missouri Plants has great photos and descriptions of both R. abortivus and R. micranthus.
Note: these are not the only small-flowered Buttercup species in Kentucky, but they are two of the most common and widespread lookalikes. A few other small-flowered Buttercups to be aware of include:
If you enjoy these "ID Tips" journal posts, please join us over at the Kentucky Botanists Big Year 2022 project! I'll be continuing this series over the course of the year in that project, so not only can you continue to get these comparative field botany pro-tips, you'll also have the chance to win KNPS swag (and the glory of victory) in the 2022 Botanists Big Year competition :)
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Nice info. Shows the importance of seeing the tiny details.
Very helpful, excited to get out there and look for buttercups this weekend
Thanks for sharing these tips Vanessa! They're really helpful. Thought you all might like to join the Kentucky Botanists Big Year 2022 project mentioned above to keep up with these great posts @chiggs, @connerjsteele, @laurabaird, @nathan_skinner, @sal77o, @wildaboutwildlife, @alphonseky
great tips...keep em coming!
@charlesandrews2 @emerlee @sekistler Glad to hear y’all are liking them! And thanks for the shoutouts @jklmiller!
This is great! Thanks!
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