Blisterwort

Description

Ranunculus recurvatus, the blisterwort or hooked crowfoot, is a plant species of the genus Ranunculus in the family Ranunculaceae native to eastern North America. It is an early-flowering plant of moist deciduous woods from central Quebec south to Florida. This herbaceous perennial plant is about 1-2' tall, consisting of some basal leaves, branched stems with alternate leaves, and flowers. The basal leaves are up to 5" long and 5" across; they have long hairy petioles. Each basal leaf is palmately cleft into 3-5 lobes; these lobes are often divided again into smaller lobes. The alternate leaves are similar to the basal leaves, except they become smaller as they ascend the stems and their petioles are shorter. The upper leaves are more slender and divided into fewer lobes. The margins of the leaves are crenate or dentate. The upper surface of each leaf is medium to dark green and glabrous. The stems are light green, terete, and covered with long hairs; they are erect to ascending, rather than sprawling across the ground. Ranunculus is a large genus of about 600 species of flowering plants in the family Ranunculaceae. Members of the genus are known as buttercups, spearworts and water crowfoots. The familiar and widespread buttercup of gardens throughout Northern Europe (and introduced elsewhere) is the creeping buttercup Ranunculus repens, which has extremely tough and tenacious roots. Two other species are also widespread, the bulbous buttercup Ranunculus bulbosus and the much taller meadow buttercup Ranunculus acris. In ornamental gardens, all three are often regarded as weeds. Buttercups usually flower in the spring, but flowers may be found throughout the summer, especially where the plants are growing as opportunistic colonizers, as in the case of garden weeds. The water crowfoots (Ranunculus subgenus Batrachium), which grow in still or running water, are sometimes treated in a separate genus Batrachium (from Greek βάτραχος bátrakhos, "frog"). They have two different leaf types, thread-like leaves underwater and broader floating leaves. In some species, such as R. aquatilis, a third, intermediate leaf type occurs. Ranunculus species are used as food by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including the Hebrew character and small angle shades. Some species are popular ornamental flowers in horticulture, with many cultivars selected for large and brightly coloured flowers.