Ranunculus laxicaulis

mississippi butter-cup, mississippi buttercup
Family

Ranunculaceae

Leaf Arrangement

alternate, basal (rosulate)

Leaf Attachment

petiolate, sessile

Leaf Margin

entire, dentate, serrulate

Leaf Type

cauline, simple

Leaf Shape

linear, oblong, elliptic, lanceolate, oblanceolate, ovate

Growth Form

forb

Flower Color

yellow

Flower Month

March - July

Height (meters)

0.2 - 1.0

Milky Sap

No

Armed/Unarmed

Unarmed

Origin

native

Lifespan

annual, perennial

Growing Season

Cool season


Wetland Class

OBL

Prairie Coefficient of Conservatism

2

Animal Use

The following information is for the genus Ranunculus: Animals that eat its seeds: Sora rail, Meadow mouse, Pine mouse. Animals that eat the plant and its seeds: Wood duck, Wild turkey, Muskrat, Cottontail rabbit, Eastern skunk, Fox squirrel, Gray squirrel (Martin et al. 1951).

Natural History

Grows on the shores of lakes, ditches, and marshes in the northern and prairie parishes of Louisiana and southeast Texas.

Habitat

Boggy shores of lakes, in depressions, ditches, and marshes.