Wildflowers of the United States

Littleleaf Buttercup, Littleleaf Crowfoot - Ranunculus abortivus

Family: Ranunculaceae - Buttercup family

Genus Common Name: Buttercup

Native Status: Native

Dicot Biennial Perennial Herb

Ranunculus abortivus - Littleleaf Buttercup, Littleleaf Crowfoot. I may not be putting too many Buttercup (genus Ranunculus) species here on USWildflowers.com. It's not that I don't run across them often; it's just that with the number of different species - the USDA lists 93 species in the United States - and with many species looking very similar to others in the genus, it takes a lot of effort and research to narrow it down to a specific species. This one, for example, I've been working on off and on for nearly a year. I originally thought it was the native Hooked Buttercup (Ranunculus recurvatus.) But then I noticed the achene beak on the plant I was researching was not nearly long enough to be Hooked Buttercup. My next choice was an introduced species, Smallflower Buttercup (Ranunculus parviflorus) which has a hooked beak on the achene, but much shorter than in R. recurvatus. However, R. parviflorus has a hispid (bristly-hairy) stem; the plant I was working on has a glabrous (hairless) stem. I finally settled on the native Buttercup Ranunculus abortivus - Littleleaf Buttercup. There may have been other, similar small-flowered Buttercups that I eliminated because they aren't found in northwest Georgia, so if you're trying to identify one outside that area, this might not be your species. But if you call it a Hooked Buttercup, who's going to argue with you?

Ranunculus abortivus is found in all but six states:
AK, AL, AR, CO, CT, DC, DE, FL, GA, IA, ID, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, MO, MS, MT, NC, ND, NE, NH, NJ, NM, NY, OH, OK, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, VA, VT, WA, WI, WV, WY

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Distribution of Ranunculus abortivus in the United States and Canada:

Map courtesy of The Biota of North America Program.
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Site: Walker County, GA Date: 2012-March-03	Photographer: Gerald C. Williamson Nikon D7000 Tamron SP 90MM f/2.8 AF Macro
Littleleaf Buttercup normally has 5 glossy yellow petals. This blossom appears to have 6, but the extra one might be one of the normally greenish sepals.

Site: Walker County, GA Date: 2012-March-03	Photographer: Gerald C Williamson Nikon D7000
The achenes of several Buttercups have hooked beaks. Most are relatively short, as shown here. Ranunculus abortivus is quite similar to Hooked Buttercup (R. recurvatus) except the beak in Hooked Buttercup is much longer, giving the head a very bristly appearance.
Click on the photo for a larger image
Site: Walker County, GA Date: 2012-March-03	Photographer: Gerald C Williamson Nikon D7000
Ranunculus abortivus has few stem leaves, and small flowers with small yellow petals. The plant has a smooth, branching stem, with a few bracts. There are several varieties of R. abortivus, with one of the differences in the varieties being the shape of the leafy bracts on the stems. This one is of the variety with deeply divided lobes in the upper bracts.
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Site: Walker County, GA Date: 2012-March-03	Photographer: Gerald C Williamson Nikon D7000
The rosette of basal leaves are typically crenate, but this one is unusually lobed for Ranunculus abortivus. R. parviflorus is much more likely to have basal leaves that are deeply lobed.
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Site: Walker County, GA Date: 2012-March-24	Photographer: Gerald C Williamson Nikon D7000
This is the more normal shape of the basal leaf on Littleleaf Buttercup. The basal rosette shows up in spring before the stem, and it can be easily confused with the leaves of a violet growing in your yard.
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References used for identification and information:

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Ranunculus abortivus initially published on USWildflowers.com 2012-03-27; Updated 2015-06-25

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Code Update 20230302