Home » Plants » Ranunculus abortivus

Small-Flowered Buttercup (Ranunculus abortivus L.)

Also known as littleleaf buttercup, kidney-leaved crowfoot.

Page contents

Summary
Range
Similar Plants
Habitat
Life Cycle
Fauna
Links
Photos

Photo © Marilynn Miller, CC BY 4.0.

↑Summary

An inconspicuous but widespread and common flower, a biennial or short-lived perennial.

↑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.

↑Similar Plants

Rock Buttercup (Ranunculus micranthus)
View - Compare (Under Construction)

thumbnail of Allegheny Mountain buttercup

Allegheny Mountain buttercup (Ranunculus allegheniensis)
View - Compare (Under Construction)

↑Habitat

Small-flowered buttercup occurs in a wide variety of moist to mesic, disturbed habitats, in fertile loam to clay-loam soil. Natural habitats include woodland openings and edges, especially in floodplains and other bottomlands, and also in mesic upland forests. It is common in anthropogenic habitats including paths through woodlands, pastures, abandoned fields, margins of yards, suburban gardens, vacant lots, and areas along roadsides and railroads, and other waste ground, especially near wet ditches.

It tolerates some flooding and waterlogging of soils. It tolerates a wide range of lighting conditions, usually being most abundant in partial sun exposures.

In much of its range it is more likely on soils rich in organic matter, but in the northeastern portion of its range it is also found in rockier habitats including cliffs, ledges, talus slopes, and rock outcroppings.

↑Life Cycle

This species grows opportunistically as a biennial or short-lived perennial.

↑Faunal Associations

The foliage is browsed to a minor extent by rabbits, wood ducks, and wild turkeys. The seeds are eaten, also to a minor extent, by the eastern chipmunk and meadow vole, as well as by ducks and turkeys. Livestock usually avoids browsing on the foliage.

The flowers have nectar that attract ladybugs (Coccinellidae beetles), small bees, hoverflies (Syrphidae), and a variety of other flies. Ladybugs and some flies also eat the pollen, and some bees collect pollen to feed to their larvae. Some nectar usually remains on the carpel even after the petals have dropped, and ants collect this nectar.