Flora of the Carolinas and Virginia, Working Draft of 17 March 2004 -- RANUNCULACEAE
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Flora of the Carolinas and Virginia, Working Draft of 17 March 2004 -- RANUNCULACEAE RANUNCULACEAE de Jussieu 1789 (Buttercup Family) (also see HYDRASTIDACEAE) A family of about 62 genera and 2450 species, herbs, shrubs, and vines, primarily of temperate and boreal regions. References: Whittemore & Parfitt in FNA (1997); Keener (1977); Tamura in Kubitzki, Rohwer, & Bittrich (1993). 1 Plant a shrub or vine; leaves compound (or sometimes some to most of them simple in Clematis). 2 Leaves opposite, distributed along the usually branched, clambering stem; sepals 4, white to blue or purplish, 10-50 mm long; wood not yellow; [subfamily Ranunculoideae, tribe Anemoneae] ................................ Clematis 2 Leaves alternate, clustered together at the top of the usually unbranched, erect stem; sepals 5, maroon, 2-5 mm long; wood yellow; [subfamily Isopyroideae, tribe Coptideae]......................................... Xanthorhiza 1 Plant an herb; leaves compound or simple. 3 Leaves simple, sometimes deeply cleft or lobed into rounded or elongate segments. 4 Plants in flower. 5 Flowers bilaterally symmetrical, the upper sepal hooded or spurred; [subfamily Helleboroideae, tribe Delphinieae]. 6 Upper sepal hooded or helmet-shaped; petals hidden by the sepals; perianth blue or creamy white; stems weak, clambering, reclining, vining, or ascending in a curve . Aconitum 6 Upper sepal spurred; petals at least partly exserted from the sepals; perianth blue, pink, white, or greenish; stems strong, erect, normally straight . Delphinium 5 Flowers radially symmetrical, no perianth parts spurred or hooded (except the 5 sepals spurred in Myosurus). 7 Petals present, white or yellow, larger and more conspicuous than the sepals; sepals present, green; [in other words, with a second, green, less conspicuous perianth whorl below the largest and colored perianth whorl; note that Hepatica has a calyx-like involucre of 3 bracts subtending each flower]; [subfamily Ranunculoideae, tribe Ranunculeae]. 8 Basal leaves linear to linear-spatulate, mostly 4-8 cm long, 1-3 mm wide; receptacle elongate, 1-6 cm long (superficially resembling a Plantago inflorescence) ....................... Myosurus 8 Basal leaves various, but not as above; receptacle globose to sub-cylindric, mostly less than 1 cm long ................................................................ Ranunculus 7 Petals absent (or modified into relatively inconspicuous nectaries or staminodia); sepals present and petaloid (white, yellow, yellow-green, cream, or blue). 9 Sepals 3-5 mm long, caducous; stamens white and showy; [subfamily Ranunculoideae, tribe Ranunculeae] ........................................................Trautvetteria 9 Sepals 6-40 mm long, not caducous; stamens not notably white and showy. 10 Leaves opposite, distributed along the stem; style plumose; [subfamily Ranunculoideae, tribe Anemoneae] ........................................................ Clematis 10 Leaves all basal, or with a few alternate or whorled involucrate leaves on the stem; style not plumose. 11 Sepals white, bluish, or blue; basal leaves 3-5 (-7)-lobed; [subfamily Ranunculoideae, tribe Anemoneae] ................................................... Anemone 11 Sepals yellow, green, or whitish (sometimes marked with purple); basal leaves unlobed, or palmately cleft into 5-11 (-many) segments; [subfamily Helleboroideae, tribe Helleboreae]. 12 Leaves cordate-reniform, unlobed; sepals bright yellow; petals absent; [native plant of bogs and marshes] ............................................. Caltha 12 Leaves palmately or pedately lobed or divided; sepals green, greenish, dull yellow, or whitish; petals modified into tubular nectaries; [introduced plants, rarely persistent or escaped from cultivation]. 13 Sepals 5-8, much longer than wide; cauline leaves absent, except for the involucre which immediately subtends the flower . Eranthis 13 Sepals 5, nearly as wide as long; cauline leaves present . Helleborus 4 Plants in fruit. 14 Fruit a follicle, each carpel with 2 or more ovules; [subfamily Helleboroideae]. 15 Leaves cordate-reniform, toothed, not lobed or divided; [tribe Helleboreae]................... Caltha 15 Leaves variously palmately or pedately lobed or divided. 16 Carpels 1-3; plants 3-30 dm tall; [native plants]; [tribe Delphinieae]. 17 Stems weak, clambering, reclining, or vining . Aconitum 17 Stems strong, erect .................................................Delphinium 16 Carpels 3-6; plants 1-5 dm tall; [introduced plants, rarely persistent or escaping]; [tribe Helleboreae]. 18 Cauline leaves absent, except for the involucre which immediately subtends the fruit . Eranthis 18 Cauline leaves present .............................................. Helleborus 15 Fruit an achene (or dehiscent utricle in Trautvetteria), each carpel with 1 ovule; [subfamily Ranunculoideae]. 19 Leaves opposite, distributed along the stem; style plumose; [tribe Anemoneae] ............. Clematis 19 Leaves all basal, or with a few alternate or whorled involucrate leaves on the stem; style not plumose. 20 Basal leaves linear to linear-spatulate, mostly 4-8 cm long, 1-3 mm wide; receptacle elongate, 1-6 cm long (superficially resembling a Plantago inflorescence); [tribe Ranunculeae] ....... Myosurus 503 Flora of the Carolinas and Virginia, Working Draft of 17 March 2004 -- RANUNCULACEAE 20 Basal leaves various, but not as above, generally long-petiolate, with an expanded, cordate, 3-lobed, or palmately-lobed blade; receptacle globose to sub-cylindric, mostly less than 1 cm long. 21 Fruit a dehiscent utricle; cauline leaves alternate; [tribe Ranunculeae] .........Trautvetteria 21 Fruit an achene; cauline leaves opposite or whorled (or alternate in Ranunculus). 22 Cauline leaves alternate; sepals present; [tribe Ranunculeae] ............ Ranunculus 22 Cauline leaves opposite or whorled, or reduced to 3 sepal-like involucral bracts immediately subtending the flower; sepals absent (but in Hepatica mimicked by the bracts); [tribe Anemoneae]......................................... Anemone 3 Leaves compound, the leaflets either linear or more-or-less petiolulate. Actaea, Anemone, Anemonella, Aquilegia, Clematis, Consolida, Coptis, Enemion, Eranthis, Helleborus, Nigella, Ranunculus, Thalictrum Aconitum Linnaeus 1753 (Monkshood, Aconite) A genus of about 300 species, herbs, of Eurasia, n. Africa, and North America. References: Brink & Woods in FNA (1997); Hardin (1964b)=Z; Tamura in Kubitzki, Rohwer, & Bittrich (1993). 1 Flowers white, creamy white, or yellowish; basal leaves numerous, large, usually 10-20 cm across, on long, stout petioles; roots fascicled; [section Lycoctonum] ......................................................... A. reclinatum 1 Flowers pale to medium blue (rarely white); basal leaves fewer, smaller, rarely over 10 cm across, on shorter and wirier petioles; root thickened, tuberous. 2 Upper leaves mostly 5-lobed, the lobes narrow, cuneate, serrate or further divided into acuminate teeth or segments; pedicels and inflorescence rachis pubescent . A. uncinatum ssp. muticum 2 Upper leaves 3-lobed, the lobes broad and only shallowly toothed; inflorescence rachis glabrous, pedicels usually pubescent only near the flower or fruit........................................ A. uncinatum ssp. uncinatum Aconitum reclinatum A. Gray, White Monkshood, Trailing Wolfsbane, White Aconite. Mt (NC, VA): rich cove forests, particularly along brookbanks, in seepages, and in periglacial boulderfields with seepage, primarily over mafic rocks (such as amphibolite, metagabbro, or greenstone), rarely over sandstone or granitic rocks; rare (NC Rare, VA Watch List). June-September. A Southern and Central Appalachian endemic: sw. PA through w. VA and e. WV to w. NC and ne. TN. It is more restricted in distribution and habitat than A. uncinatum, but the two species sometimes occur together, even intertwined! [= RAB, C, F, FNA, G, K, S, W; A. vaccarum Rydberg] Aconitum uncinatum Linnaeus ssp. muticum (Augustin de Candolle) Hardin, Appalachian Blue Monkshood. Mt (NC, SC, VA), Pd, Cp (NC, VA): seepages, cove forests, other moist forests; uncommon (SC Rare). August-September. W. PA south through e. WV and VA to w. and c. NC, e. TN, and w. SC. In our area it occurs primarily in the mountains, with disjunct occurrences in the lower Piedmont and upper Coastal Plain. [= K, Z; A. uncinatum -- RAB, FNA, S, W, in part, infraspecific taxa nor distinguished; A uncinatum var. muticum Augustin de Candolle -- C; A. uncinatum var. acutidens Fernald -- F] Aconitum uncinatum Linnaeus ssp. uncinatum, Common Blue Monkshood. Mt (NC, SC, VA), Pd, Cp (NC, VA): seepages, swamp forests, moist forests; uncommon (SC Rare). August-September. MD, c. WV, and s. IN south through TN, VA, NC, and w. SC to c. GA. In our area it occurs primarily along the Blue Ridge escarpment and in the upper Piedmont and, in nc. NC and VA, in the lower and middle Piedmont and upper Coastal Plain. [= K, Z; A. uncinatum -- RAB, FNA, S, W, in part, infraspecific taxa not distinguished; A. uncinatum var. uncinatum -- C, F] Actaea Linnaeus 1753 (Baneberry) A genus of about 28 species, perennial herbs, of temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Compton, Culham, & Jury (1998) support the inclusion of Cimicifuga in Actaea, based on analyses of morphology and DNA sequences. References: Ford in FNA (1997); Compton, Culham, & Jury (1998)=Z; Tamura in Kubitzki, Rohwer, & Bittrich (1993); Park & Lee 1996). References: Ramsey in FNA (1997); Compton, Culham, & Jury (1998)=Z; Ramsey (1987, 1988);