Introductory
SPECIES: Ranunculus pedatifidus | Birdfoot Buttercup 



ABBREVIATION : 
RANPED

SYNONYMS : 
NO-ENTRY


SCS PLANT CODE : 
   RAPE


COMMON NAMES : 
   birdfoot buttercup
   northern buttercup


TAXONOMY : 
The currently accepted scientific name of birdfoot buttercup is
Ranunculus pedatifidus Smith.


LIFE FORM : 
Forb

FEDERAL LEGAL STATUS : 
No special status

OTHER STATUS : 
Birdfoot buttercup is rare in Glacier National Park [6].


COMPILED BY AND DATE : 
Tara Y. Williams, October 1990


LAST REVISED BY AND DATE : 
NO-ENTRY


AUTHORSHIP AND CITATION : 
Williams, Tara Y. 1990. Ranunculus pedatifidus. In: Remainder of Citation

DISTRIBUTION AND OCCURRENCE
SPECIES: Ranunculus pedatifidus | Birdfoot Buttercup 



GENERAL DISTRIBUTION : 
Birdfoot buttercup has a circumpolar distribution.  In North America, it
occurs through much of Canada and sporadically in the Rocky Mountains to
Arizona [4,7].


ECOSYSTEMS : 
   FRES37  Mountain meadows
   FRES44  Alpine


STATES : 
     AK  AZ  CO  MT  NM  WY  AB  BC  MB  NB
     NF  NS  NT  ON  PQ  SK  YT


ADMINISTRATIVE UNITS : 
     FLFO  GLAC  ROMO  WRST


BLM PHYSIOGRAPHIC REGIONS : 
    8  Northern Rocky Mountains
    9  Middle Rocky Mountains
   11  Southern Rocky Mountains
   12  Colorado Plateau


KUCHLER PLANT ASSOCIATIONS : 
   K052  Alpine meadows and barren


SAF COVER TYPES : 
NO-ENTRY


SRM (RANGELAND) COVER TYPES : 
NO-ENTRY


HABITAT TYPES AND PLANT COMMUNITIES : 
NO-ENTRY

VALUE AND USE
SPECIES: Ranunculus pedatifidus | Birdfoot Buttercup 



WOOD PRODUCTS VALUE : 
NO-ENTRY


IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE : 
NO-ENTRY


PALATABILITY : 
NO-ENTRY


NUTRITIONAL VALUE : 
NO-ENTRY


COVER VALUE : 
NO-ENTRY


VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES : 
NO-ENTRY


OTHER USES AND VALUES : 
NO-ENTRY


MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
NO-ENTRY

BOTANICAL AND ECOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS
SPECIES: Ranunculus pedatifidus | Birdfoot Buttercup 



GENERAL BOTANICAL CHARACTERISTICS : 
Birdfoot buttercup is a sparsely to thickly pilose, native, perennial
autotrophic forb with slender fibrous roots.  It has 1 to 10 erect stems
which grow 4 to 16 inches (10-40 cm) tall and one to eight flowers.  The
receptable is ovoid-cylindric; each cluster contains 25 to 85 achenes
[4,7].


RAUNKIAER LIFE FORM : 
   Hemicryptophyte


REGENERATION PROCESSES : 
Birdfoot buttercup reproduces sexually by pollination and fertilization
and dispersal of resulting seed [2].


SITE CHARACTERISTICS : 
Birdfoot buttercup grows in moist meadows to alpine tundra or open,
rocky soil on windswept ridges, growing best in calcareous regions
[6,7,9].  It occurs at 10,585 feet (3,415 m) in Utah [9], between 7,500
and 12,900 feet (2,280 and 3,930 m) in Colorado, and between 8,000 and
10,500 feet (2,440 and 3,200 m) in Wyoming [2].


SUCCESSIONAL STATUS : 
NO-ENTRY


SEASONAL DEVELOPMENT : 
Birdfoot buttercup flowers in June and July in the Pacific Northwest
[4].

FIRE ECOLOGY
SPECIES: Ranunculus pedatifidus | Birdfoot Buttercup 



FIRE ECOLOGY OR ADAPTATIONS : 
NO-ENTRY


POSTFIRE REGENERATION STRATEGY : 
   Initial-offsite colonizer (off-site, initial community)

FIRE EFFECTS
SPECIES: Ranunculus pedatifidus | Birdfoot Buttercup 



IMMEDIATE FIRE EFFECT ON PLANT : 
NO-ENTRY


DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF FIRE EFFECT : 
NO-ENTRY


PLANT RESPONSE TO FIRE : 
NO-ENTRY


DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF PLANT RESPONSE : 
NO-ENTRY


FIRE MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
NO-ENTRY

REFERENCES
SPECIES: Ranunculus pedatifidus | Birdfoot Buttercup 



REFERENCES : 

 .  Bernard, Stephen R.; Brown, Kenneth F. 1977. Distribution of mammals,
       reptiles, and amphibians by BLM physiographic regions and A.W. Kuchler's
       associations for the eleven western states. Tech. Note 301. Denver, CO:
       U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management. 169 p. 
       [434]

 .  Dittberner, Phillip L.; Olson, Michael R. 1983. The plant information
       network (PIN) data base: Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, Utah, and
       Wyoming. FWS/OBS-83/86. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of the Interior,
       Fish and Wildlife Service. 786 p.  [806]

 .  Garrison, George A.; Bjugstad, Ardell J.; Duncan, Don A.; [and others].
       1977. Vegetation and environmental features of forest and range
       ecosystems. Agric. Handb. 475. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of
       Agriculture, Forest Service. 68 p.  [998]

 .  Hitchcock, C. Leo; Cronquist, Arthur; Ownbey, Marion. 1969. Vascular
       plants of the Pacific Northwest. Part 1: Vascular cryptograms,
       gymnosperms, and monocotyledons. Seattle, WA: University of Washington
       Press. 914 p.  [1169]

 .  Kuchler, A. W. 1964. Manual to accompany the map of potential vegetation
       of the conterminous United States. Special Publication No. 36. New York:
       American Geographical Society. 77 p.  [1384]

 .  Lesica, Peter. 1984. Rare vascular plants of Glacier National Park,
       Montana. Missoula, MT: University of Montana, Department of Botany. 27
       p.  [12049]

 .  Moss, E. H. 1955. The vegetation of Alberta. Botanical Review. 21(9):
       493-567.  [6878]

 .  Raunkiaer, C. 1934. The life forms of plants and statistical plant
       geography. Oxford: Clarendon Press. 632 p.  [2843]

 .  Welsh, Stanley L.; Atwood, N. Duane; Goodrich, Sherel; Higgins, Larry
       C., eds. 1987. A Utah flora. Great Basin Naturalist Memoir No. 9. Provo,
       UT: Brigham Young University. 894 p.  [2944]

.  U.S. Department of Agriculture, Soil Conservation Service. 1982.
       National list of scientific plant names. Vol. 1. List of plant names.
       SCS-TP-159. Washington, DC. 416 p.  [11573]

.  Stickney, Peter F. 1989. Seral origin of species originating in northern
       Rocky Mountain forests. Unpublished draft on file at: U.S. Department of
       Agriculture, Forest Service, Intermountain Research Station, Fire
       Sciences Laboratory, Missoula, MT; RWU 4403 files. 7 p.  [20090]

Related categories for Species: Ranunculus pedatifidus | Birdfoot Buttercup