Ranunculus glacialis

Ranunculus glacialis, the glacier buttercup[1] or glacier crowfoot, is a plant of the family Ranunculaceae. It is a 5-10(-20) cm high perennial herb. Often with a single relatively large (1.8 - 3.8 cm) flower, with 5 petals first white later pink or reddish. The underside of the 5 sepals are densely brown-hairy. The leaves are fleshy, shiny, and deeply loped, forming 3 leaflets.[2][3] Ranunculus glacialis reported (from Greenland material) to have a diploid chromosome number of 2n = 16.[2]

Ranunculus glacialis
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Ranunculales
Family: Ranunculaceae
Genus: Ranunculus
Species:
R. glacialis
Binomial name
Ranunculus glacialis
Synonyms
  • Beckwithia glacialis (L.) Löve & Löve
  • Oxygraphis glacialis Regel

Distribution and habitat

Ranunculus glacialis is an Arctic–alpine species, found in the high mountains of southern Europe (Alps, Pyrenees, Carpathians, Sierra Nevada) as well as on the Scandinavian peninsula, Iceland, the Faroe Islands, Jan Mayen, Svalbard, eastern Greenland[4][5] and Finland, where is endangered and protected.[6]

It has been described as being one of the highest-ascending plant in the Alps, flowering at over 4,000 m.[7]

It is found in fell-field and snow-bed sites, on edges of meltwater streams.[6]

Subspecies

Several subspecies are described.[8]

One subspecies, Ranunculus glacialis subsp. chamissonis, is found on either side of the Bering Strait in Siberia, Russia and Alaska, U.S..

Further reading
Chromolithograph of Glacier-Ranunculus, with Edelweiss, and Alpine Asters, by Helga von Cramm. (With verse by F.R.Havergal. c. 1870.
  • Totland, Ø., & Alatalo, J. M. (2002). Effects of temperature and date of snowmelt on growth, reproduction, and flowering phenology in the arctic/alpine herb, Ranunculus glacialis. Oecologia, 133(2), 168–175. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-002-1028-z
  • Wagner, J., Steinacher, G., & Ladinig, U. (2010). Ranunculus glacialis L.: successful reproduction at the altitudinal limits of higher plant life. Protoplasma, 243(1-4), 117–128. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00709-009-0104-1

References
  1. USDA, NRCS (n.d.). "Ranunculus glacialis". The PLANTS Database (plants.usda.gov). Greensboro, North Carolina: National Plant Data Team. Retrieved September 10, 2013.
  2. Grønlands flora. Tyge Wittrock Böcher (3. reviderede udgave ed.). København: P. Haase & Sons. 1978. ISBN 87-559-0385-1. OCLC 183098604.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  3. Nordens flora. Bo Mossberg, Lennart Stenberg, Jon Feilberg, Anna Torsteinsrud, Victoria Widmark (Nye, udvidede og omarbejdede udgave ed.). Kbh.: Gyldendal. 2020. ISBN 978-87-02-28916-9. OCLC 1158895781.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  4. "Pan-arctic flora: Home". panarcticflora.org. Retrieved 2021-07-28.
  5. "Ranunculus glacialis L." www.gbif.org. Retrieved 2021-07-28.
  6. "Glacier Buttercup, Ranunculus glacialis - Flowers - NatureGate". luontoportti.com. Retrieved 2021-07-28.
  7. Wagner, Johanna; Steinacher, Gerlinde; Ladinig, Ursula (July 2010). "Ranunculus glacialis L.: successful reproduction at the altitudinal limits of higher plant life". Protoplasma. 243 (1–4): 117–128. doi:10.1007/s00709-009-0104-1. ISSN 0033-183X. PMID 20140466. S2CID 2460684.
  8. "International Plant Names Index". www.ipni.org. Retrieved 2021-07-28.
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