Stats

Lifespan

Perennial

Size

Small

Diet

Photosynthetic

Biome

Temperate woodland

Range

North America

Movement

Sessile

Breeding

Seeds

Defense

Toxins

Status

Common

About

Despite its name, this buttercup's tiny yellow flowers are easy to overlook next to its rounded, kidney-shaped basal leaves. It's a woodland-edge native found across most of North America, often one of the first wildflowers to bloom in early spring.

Life cycle

1. 1.
   seed

   A dormant seed waits for water and warmth before germinating.
2. 2.
   sprout

   A first shoot emerges with cotyledon leaves and a tap root reaching down.
3. 3.
   sapling

   A young plant grows true leaves and a stem or trunk, putting on height each season.
4. 4.
   mature

   Fully grown, flowering or fruiting at adult size.

Learn more

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Taxonomy

Kingdom

Plantae

Phylum

Tracheophyta

Class

Magnoliopsida

Order

Ranunculales

Family

Ranunculaceae

Genus

Ranunculus

Species

Ranunculus abortivus