Ranunculus

Arable Buttercup ( Ranunculus arvensis ), illustration

The species-rich plant genus Buttercup ( Ranunculus ) belongs to the family of the buttercup family ( Ranunculaceae ). It occurs almost worldwide.

Description

Vegetative characteristics

Buttercup species grow as annuals or perennial herbaceous plant. Most species thrive terrestrial, some species as marsh plants and a few species as flood water plants. It may be formed depending on the type tuberous storage roots, rhizomes, stolons, or a bulbous stem base. The upright, ascending to procumbent, rarely flooding stem is usually foliated.

The mostly alternate, both basal as well as distributed on the stem arranged leaves may be stalked. Rarely is the top pair of leaves opposite ( Ranunculus sect. Flammula ). The petiole has a leaf sheath at its base. The leaf blade may be undivided, usually it is divided more or less deep. The leaf margin is smooth, notched, toothed or serrated.

Inflorescence and flowers

The flowers are borne singly or two to fifty in terminal or lateral, simple or branched, up to 25 cm wide, zymösen inflorescences. There can be small to large deciduous leaf-like bracts.

The hermaphrodite flowers are radial symmetry. The base of the flower ( receptaculum ) is more or less convex. The base of the flower sometimes, for example in Ranunculus forms angustisepalus a Androgynophor. There are usually five (three to seven) free, 1-15 mm long sepals present, usually green, sometimes dark red to purple, yellow or white; they are mostly flat and mostly obsolete faster than the petals. Very rarely, in Ranunculus angustisepalus the sepals have appendages, or Ranunculus ficaria the base is sac- shaped. The most five (three to ten) free petals are often referred to as nectar leaves, they are nailed, flat, linear with a length of 1 to 26 mm to circular and have at their base a nectar gland, which is usually covered by a scale. The nectar leaves are often yellow and shiny paint by oil drops in the outermost epidermis inside, in some species, also white, but then with a yellow center, very rarely they are red. There are usually many, rarely only five to ten fertile stamens present. The most numerous ( 4-250 ) free carpels are rarely, stalked example, in Ranunculus podocarpus. Each carpel contains only one basal ovule. Usually a stylus is also evident on the fruit, rarely none is configured. Most stigmatic tissue is distributed on the stylus, rarely a recognizable scar is formed.

Fruit and seeds

There are many achenes together. The spherical, ovoid or cylindrical, more or less flattened achenes have a mostly smooth, sometimes warty or spiny surface and often a straight or curved from 0 to 4.5 mm long fruit Schnabel ( = the durable pen ), sometimes they are margins at the seam or wrinkled. The achenes are usually green, only Ranunculus melanogynus they are black. The seeds have a lot of endosperm and a small embryo.

Heredity

The basic chromosome number is x = 7 rare, usually 8 In Ranunculus different polyploidy levels occur. Apomixis, and interspecific hybridization occurs in many groups before ( example Ranunculus polyanthemos group, Ranunculus subg. Batrachium, Ranunculus sect. Pseudadonis ).

Ingredients and toxicity

All Ranunculus species are poisonous ( protoanemonin ). Because of their pungent taste, they are shunned by cattle. The toxins are degraded by drying, however, so hay containing dried buttercups species is harmless. Mowed stems may cause skin irritation on contact ( meadow dermatitis).

Dissemination

The genus Ranunculus is widespread with over 600 species nearly worldwide and occurs on all continents except Antarctica. Ranunculus species thrive from tropical in hocharktische areas. Main distribution area are the temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. In North America, about 76 species occur. In Central Europe, one can find over 60 species. In China, 125 species have been recorded, 66 of them only there.

Ranunculus species grow in dry to moist locations, and as flood water plants. They occur up to the high Alpine area from the lowlands. In the tropics, however, they thrive only in the higher mountain areas, but absent in the lowlands.

System

The first publication of the genus name Ranunculus was in 1753 by Linnaeus in Species Plantarum, 1, pp. 548-556. As lectotype 1913 auricomus Ranunculus L. has been set. The genus Ranunculus belongs to the tribe Ranunculeae in the subfamily Ranunculoideae within the Ranunculaceae family.

The classification of the genus Ranunculus is controversial, with some authors, the subgenera were established as separate genera; this is also a reason for the wide spread indicate the species numbers (from 300 to about 600 are synonyms for Ranunculus L. sl: Aphanostemma A. St. Hil, Arcteranthis Greene, Batrachium ( DC. ) Gray, Beckwithia Jeps. ., Callianthemoides Tamura, Casalea A. St. Hil. , Coptidium ( Prantl ) Beurl. Rydb ex. , Cyrtorhyncha Nutt., Ficaria Schaeff. , Gampsoceras Steven, Halerpestes Greene, Oxygraphis Bunge, Peltocalathos Tamura. According to K. Emadzade et al. 2010 includes the tribe Ranunculeae a large genus Ranunculus with over 600 species and many small, from her, emerging or re outsourced genera with about 50 species.

The botanical genus name Ranunculus comes from the Latin word ranunculus for " frog " from, either, as many of species particularly thrive in humid locations - where frogs live, or because of their kaulquappenförmigen fruits ( " frog " = " tadpole "). The trivial name refers to the buttercup vogelfußähnlichen leaves.

There are over 600 species of Ranunculus (selection):

• Ranunculus abnormis Cutanda & Willk, home. Spain and Portugal
• Ranunculus L. abortivus
• Ranunculus acaulis DC.
• Ranunculus acetosellifolius Boiss, home. Spain (Sierra Nevada)
• Eisenhutblättriger buttercup or Sturmhutblättriger Buttercup ( Ranunculus aconitifolius L.)
• Ranunculus acriformis
• Sharp Buttercup ( Ranunculus acris L.)
• Ranunculus acutilobus Ledeb.
• Ranunculus adoneus A.Gray
• Ranunculus adoxifolius Hand. - Mazz.
• Hook Buttercup ( Ranunculus aduncus sizes. ), Occurs only in Spain, France and Italy
• Ranunculus ageri Bertol.
• Ranunculus albertii rule & Schmalh.
• Ranunculus alismellus ( A. Gray ) Greene
• Ranunculus alismifolius Geyer ex Benth.
• Ranunculus allegheniensis
• Ranunculus allemannii Br.-Bl.
• Ranunculus allenii
• Alpine Buttercup ( Ranunculus alpestris L.)
• Ranunculus ambigens
• Ranunculus amellus Briq.
• Ranunculus ampelophyllus Somm. & Levier
• White Buttercup ( Ranunculus amplexicaulis L.), Origin: Pyrenees of Spain and France, thrives on mats at altitudes 1000-2500 meters
• Ranunculus amurensis Kom
• Ranunculus andersonii A. Gray
• Ranunculus angulatus C. Presl, is found only in Sicily
• Ranunculus angustisepalus W.T.Wang
• Ranunculus apenninus ( Chiov. ) Pignatti, occurs only in Italy
• Ranunculus apiifolius pers.
• Ordinary water crowfoot (Ranunculus aquatilis L.)
• Ranunculus araraticus Grossh. Kem. ex - Nath.
• Ranunculus arizonicus Lemmon ex A. Gray Ranunculus arizonicus var arizonicus

• Ranunculus bonariensis var trisepalus

• Brackwasserhahnenfuß (. Ranunculus peltatus subsp baudotii ( Godr. ) Meikle ex CDKCook, Syn. Ranunculus baudotii Godr. )
• Ranunculus peltatus subsp. fucoides ( Freyn ) Muñoz Garm. ( Syn: Ranunculus fucoides Freyn, Ranunculus saniculifolius Viv, Ranunculus aquatilis subsp saniculifolius ( viv ) O.Bolòs & Vigo.. )
• True Shield water crowfoot (Ranunculus subsp peltatus cabinet. Peltatus )

• Vielblütiger Grove Buttercup ( Ranunculus polyanthemos L. subsp. Polyanthemos ) in Europe with a focus on the spread in Eastern Europe
• Verschiedenschnabeliger Grove Buttercup ( Ranunculus polyanthemos subsp. Polyanthemoides ( Bor ) Ahlfv. ), Occurs in France, in Italy, in Central Europe and southern North Europe and South Eastern Europe
• Ranunculus polyanthemos subsp. thomasii ( Ten. ) Tutin ( syn.. R. thomasii Ten) comes only in southern Italy before especially in Calabria

• Forest Buttercup, Common Buttercup grove or bush buttercup (Ranunculus serpens subsp nemorosus ( DC.) G.López, Syn. Ranunculus nemorosus DC. )
• Schlitzblättriger Grove Buttercup, Schlitzblättriger forest Buttercup ( Ranunculus serpens subsp polyanthemophyllus ( W.Koch & HEHess ) Kerguélen, Syn: Ranunculus polyanthemophyllus W.Koch & HEHess, but also as a subspecies subsp polyanthemophyllus ( W.Koch &. . H.Hess ) Baltisberger to R. L. polyanthemos provided); occurs only in Europe and indeed in France, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Italy and the former Yugoslavia
• Santander forest root (Ranunculus subsp serpens cabinet. Serpens ), comes only in Europe and indeed in France, Switzerland, Germany, Austria and northern Italy before

Belongs not to the genus, for example:

• Ranunculus ficarioides Bory & Chaub. → Ficaria ficarioides ( Bory & Chaub. ) Halácsy
• Ranunculus ficaria → Lesser Celandine ( Ficaria verna Huds. )

Additional literature

• MA Fischer, W. Adler, K. Oswald: Exkursionsflora for Austria, Liechtenstein and South Tyrol, Linz, 2005, ISBN 3-85474-140-5.
• Ruprecht Duell, Herfried Kutzelnigg: Pocket Encyclopaedia of plant Germany, 2005, ISBN 3-494-01397-7.
• Jürgen Damboldt, Walter Zimmermann: Ranunculaceae, In: Gustav Hegi: Illustrated Flora of Central Europe, 2nd edition, Volume III, Part 3, Munich, Carl Hanser 1974.