STREAM WATER-CROWFOOT

Ranunculus penicillatus

Buttercup Family [Ranunculaceae]

month8jun month8june month8jul month8july month8aug

status
statusZnative
flower
flower8white
inner
inner8yellow
morph
morph8actino
petals
petalsZ5
stem
stem8round
toxicity
toxicityZmedium
sex
sexZbisexual


CHALK-STREAM WATER-CROWFOOT

Ranunculus penicillatus ssp. pseudofluitans

1st July 2018, Ampney House, Ampney, Cirencester. Photo: © Mike Baldwin


1st July 2018, Ampney House, Ampney, Cirencester. Photo: © Mike Baldwin
In this photo it seems that at least some of the leaves are laminar (flat), which means that it cannot be ssp. pseudofluitans, aka Chalk-stream Water-crowfoot. But do these flat leaves belong to this plant or not, that is the question. If they do not belong to this plant, then this plant must be ssp. pseudofluitans as concluded from other photos lower down this page. Confusing isn't it!


1st July 2018, Ampney House, Ampney, Cirencester. Photo: © Mike Baldwin
It looks like that there both sub-species of Stream Water-crowfoot in the following images, but the plants are deceptive: The leaves here are flaccid with parallel segments which would suggest they are the sub-species ssp. penicillatus


1st July 2018, Ampney House, Ampney, Cirencester. Photo: © Mike Baldwin
Whereas the leaves of the ssp. pseudofluitans are all 'capillary' leaves (which are thin, wiry, with both flaccid (floppy) and roughly-parallel segments and usually forked between 6 to 8 times). However this ssp. pseudofluitans can have both parallel and divergent leaf segments. Here they are roughly divergent.


1st July 2018, Ampney House, Ampney, Cirencester. Photo: © Mike Baldwin
But the clinching identifier for all these photos probably being ssp. penicillatus seems to your Author to be that the capillary leaves (those thiner ones at the ends) are longer than the adjacent stem internode (the connecting branch). Indeed, without these leaves identification seems to be very difficult if not impossible. Also, ssp. penicillatus has both laminar (flat) leaves and capillary (wiry) leaves, as displayed on the differing photos. So, it is indeed ssp. penicillatus.


1st July 2018, Ampney House, Ampney, Cirencester. Photo: © Mike Baldwin
The flowers do not seem to help in the differentiation between ssp. pseudofluitans (Chalk-stream Water-crowfoot) and ssp. pennicillatus (Stream Water-crowfoot), but that matters little now, we have concluded that these specimens are Chalk-stream Water-crowfoot. The dull-green and round and long flower stalk holds the flower well above the water surface.


1st July 2018, Ampney House, Ampney, Cirencester. Photo: © Mike Baldwin
The five white petals have a large golden-yellow central area with numerous golden-yellow anthers and several much shorter green styles in the centre. Underneath the flower are some yellowish sepals.




STREAM WATER-CROWFOOT

Ranunculus penicillatus ssp. pseudofluitans
Sorry, no photos yet, contributors welcome


Hybridizes with : Common Water-crowfoot (Ranunculus aquatilis) to produce Ranunculus ×virzionensis × which was once found in Warwickshire 1951 and in 1974 and may have been seen elsewhere after...

Easily mis-identified as : Wirtgen's Water-crowfoot (Ranunculus × bachii) which is the compound hybrid between no less than 4 other Water-crowfoots, namely the hybrid created between River Water-crowfoot and Thread-Leaved Water-Crowfoot hybridising with the hybrid between River Water-crowfoot and Common Water-crowfoot; the combination looking very much like Stream Water-crowfoot. And, who knows, the above photos might just be of this hybrid(?)! and are you bothered?


  Ranunculus penicillatus  ⇐ Global Aspect ⇒ Ranunculaceae  

Distribution
 family8Buttercup family8Ranunculaceae
 BSBI maps
genus8Ranunculus
Ranunculus
(Water-Crowfoots)

STREAM WATER-CROWFOOT

Ranunculus penicillatus

Buttercup Family [Ranunculaceae]