Kidneyleaf Buttercup, Littleleaf Buttercup, Ranunculus abortivus L., Wildflowers of the Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden.

	Plants of the Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden
	Common Name	Scientific Name	Plant Family	Garden Location	Prime Season
	Kidneyleaf Buttercup	Ranunculus abortivus L.	Buttercup	Woodland	Spring - April to June
Other names and notes	(Littleleaf Buttercup, Small-flowered Buttercup). This buttercup is an erect, branched perennial, 8-20" high and unlike the other 3 buttercups in the Garden, the basal and stem leaves are very different. Basal leaves are kidney or heart-shaped, hence the common name. Stem leaves are few but deeply lobed with 3-5 lobes. The flower is a typical buttercup yellow, 5 part, but small, 1/4" wide. There are normally 5 sepals that are longer and wider than the narrow petals (see photo below). Flowers are solitary from the upper leaf axils. Mature fruit is an oval cluster of dry seeds. The family name for buttercups was formerly "Crowfoot."


The longer and wider sepals are most visible in the photo at right above. Note also the difference in the stem leaves from the kidney shaped basal leaves seen in the photo below. Photo above left and below ©Shari Hagwood, USDA-NRCS Plants Database. Stem photo at above right ©Christopher Noll, University of Wisconsin, Steven's Point.

Notes: Kidneyleaf Buttercup is indigenous to the Garden area, appearing on Eloise Butler's early list of Garden plants. Martha Crone listed it on her 1951 Garden Census under the name Small-flowered Buttercup. It is native to Minnesota, being found in all counties with a few scattered exceptions near the western border. Many of the species of buttercups are poisonous and will severely irritate the skin. In 1911 Eloise Butler wrote about the Buttercups. She remarked that R. arbortivus "has so small a flower that a novice would scarcely notice it, and is surprised to hear it named a buttercup." You can read all of her words and more about the Buttercups by clicking:

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References: Plant characteristics are generally from sources 15, 16, 30, 31, 33, W2 & W3. Distribution principally from W2 and also 31, 34 and W1. Planting history generally from 1, 4 & 4a. Other sources by specific reference. See Reference List for details.

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