Ranunculus plebeius
R.Br. ex DC. Forest ButtercupPerennial with fibrous roots, to c. 80 (commonly to 40) cm high. Leaves mostly tufted at base; petioles 5–30 cm long, with fine spreading hairs; lamina deltoid to ovate in outline, 2–7 cm long and wide, variably covered with semi-appressed to spreading hairs, 3-lobed to trifoliolate, the segments prominently toothed to ternately lobed. Flowering stems erect, exceeding leaves, with spreading and/or appressed hairs, usually branched with up to 10 (rarely more) flowers; sepals 5, reflexed, ovate to elliptic, 2–6 mm long, hairy on back; petals 5, obovate, 5–10 mm long, 2–4 mm wide, yellow, glossy; nectary lobe rounded, 0.5–1 mm long; stamens c. 10–25. Achenes usually 20–50, obovate, lenticular, 2–3 mm long, smooth on sides, sometimes with a row of stiff appressed hairs along the dorsal margin; beak strongly curved, 0.5–1 mm long; receptacle hispid between achenes, glabrous in the staminal zone. Flowers Oct.–Feb.
VVP, GipP, Gold, CVU, GGr, EGL, EGU, HSF, HNF, OtR, Strz, MonT, HFE, VAlp. Also Qld, NSW, ACT. In Victoria occurring mainly in moist forested situations in foothills and lowlands of the east, but exact range uncertain due to confusion of records with R. scapiger.
Exceedingly close to R. scapiger which may be better recognized as an infraspecific taxon within R. plebeius.
Walsh, N.G. (1996). Ranunculaceae. In: Walsh, N.G.; Entwisle, T.J., Flora of Victoria Vol. 3, Dicotyledons Winteraceae to Myrtaceae, pp. 35–63. Inkata Press, Melbourne.
Spinning
