Carolina Buttercup (Ranunculus septentrionalis Poir.)
Also known as swamp buttercup; also classified as Ranunculus carolinianus DC., Ranunculus hispidus var. nitidus (Chapm.) T.Duncan.
Many authorities, including USDA PLANTS and BONAP, treat this as a variety of bristly buttercup (Ranunculus hispidus), var. nitidus. We treat it as a separate species, per the treatment of POWO and FSUS.
↑Range - Expand
| Legend | Color |
| Native | |
| Native or Not Present |
This tentative map is based on our own research. It may have limited data on Canada and/or Mexico, and there is some subjectivity in our assignment of plants as introduced vs. expanded. Read more in this blog post.
Although this plant occurs somewhere in each of these regions, it may only occur in a small part of some or all of them.
This species also ranges slightly into Canada; we have yet to build this portion of its map.
↑Notes
We prefer the common name "Carolina buttercup"; it refers to the scientific synonym Ranunculus carolinianus, which, although not the correct name because it was used to describe a type specimen that was later found to belong to this species, which had already been described as Ranunculus septentrionalis, it does correspond to a literal translation of the epithet "carolinianus" of that synonym. Furthermore, the only other common name in use for this species, "swamp buttercup", is ambiguous as it also refers to swamp buttercup (Ranunculus caricetorum).
The name "Carolina" also has a southern connotation, which accurately reflects that, of the two species, this one has the more southerly distribution.
↑Links & External Resources
• Ranunculus septentrionalis (Swamp Buttercup) | Illinois Wildflowers (About This Site)
• Hispid Buttercup (nitidus) Ranunculus hispidus var. nitidus | Maryland Biodiversity Project (About This Site)
• Ranunculus carolinianus DC. (Carolina Buttercup) | Digital Atlas of the Virginia Flora (About This Site)
• Ranunculus hispidus var. nitidus | Biota of North America Project (BONAP) (About This Site)
• Ranunculus septentrionalis Poir. | Plants of the World Online (POWO) (About This Site)
• Ranunculus hispidus Michx. var. nitidus (bristly buttercup) | USDA PLANTS Database (About This Site)
• Ranunculus hispidus var. nitidus | NatureServe Explorer (About This Site)
• Ranunculus hispidus var. nitidus | Flora of North America (About This Site)
• Ranunculus hispidus‡ | Missouri Plants (About This Site)
Different Taxonomic Treatments
‡ These links refer to a larger population than covered by this page.
