58.
Ranunculus pusillus
Poiret in J. Lamarck et al., Encycl. 6: 99. 1804.
Ranunculus oblongifolius
Elliott;
R
.
pusillus
var.
angustifolius
(Engelmann ex Engelmann & A. Gray) L. D. Benson;
R
.
tener
C. Mohr
Stems erect or ascending, rooting at most proximal nodes, glabrous. Roots not thickened basally, glabrous. Proximal cauline leaf blades ovate or lanceolate, 1.2-4.2 × 0.5-1.2 cm, base acute to truncate, margins entire or denticulate, apex acuminate to rounded. Inflorescences: bracts linear to lanceolate or oblanceolate. Flowers: receptacle glabrous; sepals 4-5, spreading or reflexed from base, 1.5-3 × 1-1.5 mm, glabrous or sparsely hirsute; petals 1-3, 1.5-2 × 0.5-1 mm; nectary scales glabrous. Heads of achenes hemispheric to cylindric, 2-8 × 2-3 mm; achenes 1-1.2 × 0.6-0.8 mm, ± tuberculate, glabrous; beak absent or nearly so, to 0.1 mm.
Flowering spring (Apr-Jun). Ditches, ponds, and swamps; 0-300 m; Ala., Ark., Calif., Del., D.C., Fla., Ga., Ill., Ind., Ky., La., Md., Miss., Mo., N.J., N.Y., N.C., Ohio, Okla., Pa., S.C., Tenn., Tex., Va., W.Va.
In most specimens of Ranunculus pusillus , the heads of achenes are hemispheric to short-ovate and only 2-3 mm. Occasional plants with cylindric heads of achenes 4-6 mm from the Gulf Coast states have been called R . pusillus var. angustifolius .
