Ranunculus alismifolius is a species of buttercup known by the common name plantainleaf buttercup. It is native to western North America from British Columbia to California to Colorado, where it grows in moist mountain habitat such as meadows, streambanks, and bogs, becoming common to abundant in some places. It is somewhat variable in appearance and there are several varieties which can be hard to tell apart. In general the plant is a perennial herb producing a few usually upright to erect, branching stems from a fleshy, fibrous root system. It can be up to half a meter tall, or it can remain quite short and clumpy. The leaves vary in shape, the lower ones with oval blades and the upper linear to lance-shaped, all borne on long petioles. The inflorescence bears one or more flowers, each on a long pedicel. The flower has up to 12 yellow petals and many yellow stamens and pistils at the center. The fruit is an achene, borne in a spherical cluster of 12 or more.
No narrative description available for this taxon yet.
⚠ sources differ — GIFT: 0.61 m · USDA: 0.61 m · TRY: 0.33 m
Seed mass6.85 mg
Seed mass max1.64 mg
Seed mass min0.769 mg
Life cycle & reproduction24
After harvest regrowth rateSlow
Bloom periodMid Spring
Coppice potentialNo
Flower colouryellow
Flower conspicuousYes
Fruit seed period beginSpring
Fruit seed period endSummer
Growth rate USDAModerate
Life formperennial or helophyte
Life spanperennial
Lifespan categoryLong
Propagated by bare rootNo
Propagated by bulbNo
Propagated by containerNo
Propagated by cormNo
Propagated by cuttingsNo
Propagated by seedYes
Propagated by sodNo
Propagated by sprigsNo
Propagated by tubersNo
Resprout abilityNo
Seed spread rateSlow
Seedling vigorMedium
Vegetative spread rateNone
Diet & foraging1
Parasiteindependent
Habitat & environment24
Active growth periodSpring and Summer
Adapted to coarse textured soilsYes
Adapted to fine textured soilsNo
Adapted to medium textured soilsYes
Aquaticterrestrial
BloatNone
Climatetemperate
Climberself-supporting
Epiphyteterrestrial
Foliage colorGreen
Foliage porosity summerPorous
Foliage porosity winterPorous
Foliage textureFine
Fruit colourbrown
Growth formherb
Growth form USDASingle Crown
Hedge toleranceNone
Known allelopathNo
Leaf retentionNo
Low growing grassNo
Root depth min9 in
Shape and orientationErect
Small grainNo
Woodinessnon-woody
Physiology & chemistry20
Anaerobic toleranceMedium
C:N ratioMedium
Caco3 toleranceMedium
Cold stratification requiredNo
Drought toleranceLow
Fertility requirementMedium
Fire resistantNo
Fire toleranceMedium
Frost free days min85 days
Moisture useHigh
Nitrogen fixation levelNone
Photosynthetic pathwayC3
Precipitation max30 in
Precipitation min10 in
Protein potentialLow
Salinity toleranceNone
Shade toleranceMedium
Soil pH max7.5 pH
Soil pH min6 pH
Temperature min-33 °F
Uses & economy15
Berry nut seed productNo
Christmas tree productNo
Commercial availabilityNo Known Source
Fodder productNo
Lumber productNo
Naval store productNo
Nursery stock productNo
Palatable browse animalLow
Palatable graze animalLow
Palatable humanNo
Post productNo
Pulpwood productNo
Seeds per pound25 000 per lb
ToxicityModerate
Veneer productNo
Other traits4
Fall conspicuousNo
Fruit seed abundanceMedium
Fruit seed conspicuousNo
Fruit seed persistenceNo
05DNA & barcoding11 specimens
A DNA barcode is a short, standardised stretch of genes that works like a fingerprint — enough to tell one species from another. Below is the molecular trace Ranunculus alismifolius has left across the world's sequence archives.
At a glance
DNA specimens11
Marker genes6
GenBank sequences7
eDNA detections6
Countries1
The DNA barcodea real sequence read deposited for this species
★ the standard DNA barcode for this group — the short region actually read to tell this species apart. The rest are extra genes sequenced along the way.
★matK1★rbcL3★rbcLa★trnL-F★ITS3★ITS2
plant barcodefungal barcode
06Genome at a glanceCCDB
The complete instruction manualRanunculus alismifolius carries — its genome. We read it from three angles — how big it is, how the DNA is packed into chromosomes, and how completely it has been sequenced — and explain how to read each value as you go.
Chromosomes & ploidyhow the DNA is packaged
2n is the full chromosome count in a normal body cell; n is a gamete (egg or sperm), which carries half. Ploidy is how many complete chromosome sets each cell holds — 2× (diploid) is typical for animals, while higher levels (polyploidy) are common in plants. Click any value below to see the underlying records and sources.
Chromosomes2n = 16 n = 8
Ploidydiploid inferred
Chromosome-count records — grouped by value · 2n = full set, n = gamete · click a value for sources & references
2n 161×CCDB · eflora
CCDB · eflora
Ploidy records — measured levels and diploid/polyploid inferences · click for sources
Human sightings and records, or camera-trap / sensor detections — someone (or a device) saw or captured the species in the wild.
Coordinate accuracy93% within 1 km
≤100 m 405≤1 km 65≤10 km 18>10 km 18
506 georeferenced · 129 without coordinates
Open the mapobservation + sensor635
Museum / Voucheredphysical evidence
Backed by a physical specimen — a herbarium sheet, sample or voucher held in a collection. “Vouchered” means supported by material evidence, not just an observation.
Coordinate accuracy58% within 1 km
≤100 m 22≤1 km 76≤10 km 66>10 km 4
168 georeferenced · 192 without coordinates
Open the institutions mapphysical evidence360
Wildobservation + sensor
Human sightings and records, or camera-trap / sensor detections — someone (or a device) saw or captured the species in the wild.
10Collections & institutions
Holding institutions51 of 72 geolocated
Institutions and collections holding physical, vouchered specimens of this species — click a row to fly to it on the map.
Institution
Specimens
Bronx, US
40
Denver, US
23
Davis, US
15
Flagstaff, US
14
Provo, US
14
CASlocation not on record
13
Corvallis, US
13
DOI/NPS, Colonial National Historical Parklocation not on record
13
Pocatello, US
12
Victoria, CA
11
Santa Barbara, US
10
Moscow, US
9
Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratorylocation not on record
8
Pullman, US
6
WTUlocation not on record
6
Boise, US
6
DOI/NPS, Mount Rainier National Parklocation not on record
6
Grand Junction, US
6
Los Angeles, US
5
Fullerton, US
5
Tacoma, US
5
Fredericton Stock Culture Collectionlocation not on record
5
Chongqing Museumlocation not on record
5
Logan, US
4
DOI/NPS, Greenbelt Parklocation not on record
4
Riverside, US
4
US
4
Bozeman, US
3
Northridge, US
3
Saint Louis, US
3
Canadian Department of Agriculturelocation not on record
3
Truckee, US
3
San Luis Obispo, US
3
Arcata, US
3
Tampa, US
3
Musee des Dinosaures d'Esperaza (Aude)location not on record
3
Albuquerque, US
3
Wuzhou, CN
3
Anchorage, US
2
Cheney, US
2
Istituto Agrario Castelnuovolocation not on record
2
US
2
Durango, US
2
Phoenix, US
2
Angwin, US
2
Missoula, US
2
Vancouver, CA
2
Davenport, US
2
Museo civico La Terra e l'Uomo di Crocetta del Montellolocation not on record
2
Orem, US
2
ASUlocation not on record
2
STNFlocation not on record
1
Long Beach, US
1
San Diego, US
1
Durango, MX
1
DOI/NPS, Little Rock Central High School National Historic Sitelocation not on record
1
Bend, US
1
Bloomington, US
1
Madison, US
1
Burlington, US
1
Yellowstone National Park Herbariumlocation not on record
1
Chapel Hill, US
1
St. Paul, US
1
San Francisco, US
1
Chadron, US
1
Claremont, US
1
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canadalocation not on record
1
Cslocation not on record
1
Jena Microbial Resource Collectionlocation not on record
1
Henderson, US
1
INFlocation not on record
1
BAYLUlocation not on record
1
72 institutions · 346 of 360 vouchered records shown · 12 without an institution code
09Environmental DNA6 detections
Where the DNA of Ranunculus alismifolius was picked up in samples of water, soil or air — nobody saw the organism, only its DNA left behind. A trace is a clue that the species was near, not a confirmed sighting.
Signal
Detections DNA found6
Studies independent surveys1
Countries1
Signal confidence: weakweighed across independent studies, places & mapped detections
Where its DNA was found
0 of 6 detections have coordinates
Open the map1 country0
meadow surrounded by subalpine fir and aspen…shallow pondaspen grove along Lye Creek, with Veratrum a…Growing in meadow surrounding cabin
How strong is each trace?
DNA read depthRead counts were not reported for this species — the map shows presence only, not how strong each trace was.
Modelled climatemodelled
−15°Ctemperature across detection sites+40°C
Temperature median13.6 °C 12.5–16.9
Seasonal swing summer↔winter26.3 °C
Max temp (day)20.1 °C 18.4–24.1
Min temp (night)8.20 °C 7.80–9.20
Precipitation70.2 mm/mo 43.2–79.6
Air humidity53.7 % 46.6–57.3
Moisture balance-63.2 mm/mo -126–-38.4
Vapour deficit787 Pa 733–1,042
Wind speed4.30 m/s 2.80–5.80
Cloud cover29.9 % 21.4–36.7
CHELSA 1981–2010, ~9 km grid, at location & month of 4 detection points · median with p10–p90 · reflects where sampling happened, not only the true niche
How to read this: each dot is one detection of this species' DNA in an environmental sample. The confidence meter weighs how many independent studies and places back up the signal — one detection in one study is a hint; many across several studies is solid. Records dated before 2008 (when eDNA methods began) are treated as likely mislabeled and left off the map.
WikipediaWikimedia Foundation4 languages↗
BioWikiNetmultilingual Wikipediamultilingual↗
GBIFGlobal Biodiversity Information Facility995 records↗
ENAEuropean Nucleotide Archive · EMBL-EBI6 eDNA detections↗
BOLD SystemsCentre for Biodiversity Genomics11 specimens↗
NCBIUS National Library of Medicinesequences↗
GRIN TaxonomyUSDA-ARSdistribution & uses↗
Open Tree of LifeOpenTreephylogeny backbone↗
CCDBChromosome Counts DB · Tel Aviv U.genome & karyotype↗
PloiDBPloidy Databasegenome & karyotype
GLoBIGlobal Biotic Interactionsbiotic interactions↗