A slender, branched perennial herb. Flowers with 4–8 petals, variable in size, sepals very short, recurved, many stamens and small carpels (containing usually 1 seed each). Blooms March–May. Basal leaves on long stems, kidney-shaped or round, with margins lobed, scalloped, or smooth (no indentations). Stem leaves either trifoliate (compound with 3 leaflets) or in 3 straplike segments.
Similar species: There are 19 Ranunculus species recorded for Missouri. Because the leaves and stems can vary a great deal even within a single species, one usually needs to examine flowers and fruits in order to identify them. Noting their habitat is helpful, too.
Height: to about 1 foot, sometimes taller.
South and east-central Missouri.
Habitat and Conservation
Grows in acid soils on wooded slopes, and in rocky, open, dry areas.
Human Connections
The species name, harveyi, honors Francis Leroy Harvey (1850-1900), a professor of biology and geology at the University of Arkansas who founded that school’s natural history museum in Fayetteville by offering cash rewards to students for collections of plant, animal, and mineral specimens.
Ecosystem Connections
Harvey’s buttercup is one of 12 species of Ranunculus native to Missouri. It ranges from Indiana to Oklahoma, Louisiana, and Alabama. In Indiana, this species is endangered, apparently occurring in only one county in that state.
