SPECIES DESCRIPTION
RANUNCULUS AQUATILIS
Family and Genus:- See- RANUNCULACEAE/Subgen. BATRACHIUM
Common Names:- Water crowfoot
Homotypic Synonyms:- Ranunculaceae Batrachium aquatile
Meaning:- Ranunculus (L) Little-frog, diminutive of rana, (reference to the water-
loving habit of many species).
Aquatilis (L) Living under water.
General description:- Annual.
Leaves:-
1) Laminar, reniform-suborbicur, 3- to 5-lobed, divided to the middle or often further,
16-45 mm broad, pubescent or glabrous, beneath; basal sinus varying, lobes
dentate.
2) Intermediate, sometimes occurring, the combination of capillary and flattened
segments irregular.
3) Dissected, few, lamina globose to obconical, 20-50 mm long, segments thin,
flaccid or subrigid.
4) Petiole, short, 2-5 mm, often equalling stipules.
5) Stipules, oblong to suborbicular, free from the petiole for half their length,
sparsely hairy.
Flowers:-
1) Pedicels, rarely more than 50 cm in fruit, often decumbent and usually shorter
than the petiole of the opposing leaf.
2) Sepals, 2.33.2(-5.0) mm, blue- or violet-tipped.
3) Petals, 6-11 mm, broadly obovate, retuse or ± crenate at the apex, margin
usually undulate.
4) Nectaries, mainly circular.
5) Receptacle, elongate, globose or intermediate.
6) Stamens, 8-16;
a) anthers, 0.7-0.9(-1.3) mm.
Fruit:-
1) Achenes, 20-40(-60), 1.5-2.4 mm, glabrous, sometimes shiny, or sparsely hairy,
unwinged or "petiolate", i.e., narrowing basally with a tendency to form a ventral
wing.
Key features:-
1) Segments, of laminate leaves dentate.
2) Nectaries, circular.
3) Pedicel, in fruit usually less than 50 mm.
4) Honey-leaves, rarely more than 10 mm.
Habitat:- Ponds, pond edges and slow moving streams. (0-400(-1200).
Distribution:- Most of Europe. Limited distribution on Crete.
Flowering time:- Apr-May.
Photo by:- Jenny Neal
