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  4. Ranunculus maculatus

Ranunculus maculatus

Old Man Range (Jan).<br>Photographer: John Smith-Dodsworth, Licence: <a target='_blank' href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0'>CC BY-NC</a>.
Dunstan Range.<br>Photographer: John Barkla, Licence: <a target='_blank' href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0'>CC BY</a>. <a class='member-message' href='/nzpcn/why-join-nzpcn/' target='_blank'>Members can view a larger version of this image.</a>
Dunstan Range.<br>Photographer: John Barkla, Licence: <a target='_blank' href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0'>CC BY</a>. <a class='member-message' href='/nzpcn/why-join-nzpcn/' target='_blank'>Members can view a larger version of this image.</a>
Dunstan Range.<br>Photographer: John Barkla, Licence: <a target='_blank' href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0'>CC BY</a>. <a class='member-message' href='/nzpcn/why-join-nzpcn/' target='_blank'>Members can view a larger version of this image.</a>
Ranunculus maculatus.<br>Photographer: Mike Thorsen, Licence: All rights reserved. <a class='member-message' href='/nzpcn/why-join-nzpcn/' target='_blank'>Members can view a larger version of this image.</a>
Hector Mountains.<br>Photographer: John Barkla, Licence: <a target='_blank' href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0'>CC BY</a>. <a class='member-message' href='/nzpcn/why-join-nzpcn/' target='_blank'>Members can view a larger version of this image.</a>
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Synonyms

None

Family

Ranunculaceae

Authority

Ranunculus maculatus Cockayne et Allan

Flora category

Vascular – Native

Endemic taxon

Yes

Endemic genus

No

Endemic family

No

Structural class

Herbs - Dicotyledons other than Composites

NVS code

The National Vegetation Survey (NVS) Databank is a physical archive and electronic databank containing records of over 94,000 vegetation survey plots - including data from over 19,000 permanent plots. NVS maintains a standard set of species code abbreviations that correspond to standard scientific plant names from the Ngä Tipu o Aotearoa - New Zealand Plants database.

RANMCL

Chromosome number

2n = 32

Current conservation status

  • Conservation status of New Zealand indigenous vascular plants, 2017

The conservation status of all known New Zealand vascular plant taxa at the rank of species and below were reassessed in 2017 using the New Zealand Threat Classification System (NZTCS). This report includes a statistical summary and brief notes on changes since 2012 and replaces all previous NZTCS lists for vascular plants. Authors: By Peter J. de Lange, Jeremy R. Rolfe, John W. Barkla, Shannel P. Courtney, Paul D. Champion, Leon R. Perrie, Sarah M. Beadel, Kerry A. Ford, Ilse Breitwieser, Ines Schönberger, Rowan Hindmarsh-Walls, Peter B. Heenan and Kate Ladley.

2012 | At Risk – Naturally Uncommon | Qualifiers: RR

Previous conservation statuses

2009 | At Risk – Naturally Uncommon

2004 | Sparse

Distribution

Endemic. South Island from south western Canterbury to Otago and northern Southland

Habitat

Montane to alpine in turf on lake and tarn margins, in bogs, seepages amongst short tussock grasses and in alpine flushes and cushion bogs.

Features

Short, tufted, sparsely hairy to glabrate perennial up to 50 mm tall forming small solitary or multiple rosettes. Petioles of cauline leaves up to 16 mm long, sheath 14 x 3 mm, membranous, very hairy, petioles and sheath mottled purple-green or completely purple-black. Cauline leaves 9 x 10 mm, dark green flecked with dark brown, brown, purple-brown or black, broadly elliptic, obovate-cuneate, obovate or orbicular, deeply 3-lobed, sparsely hairy or glabrous (hairs if present concentrated toward lamina margins). Scape apparently sessile to subsessile at flowering, elongating to 50 mm or toward the apex where glabrous. Flowers solitary, 8-10 mm diameter; sepals 5, 3 x 2 mm, broad-ovate, sparsely hairy to glabrous spreading at maturity, fugaceous; petals 5, 5 x 2 mm, yellow, oblong-obovate to spathulate; nectary single, 1-1.5 mm from petal base, shallow, pocket-like. receptacle hairy. Achenes 15-25, 1.5-1.9 mm long, dull brown, often blotched dark purple-brown or completely dark purple-brown, elliptic, ovate-elliptic or obovate-elliptic; beak usually curled or hooked to dorsal side, sometimes straight, 0.2-0.5 mm long.

Similar taxa

Belongs to a group of ranunculi where although the flowers are sessile to subsessile the peduncle greatly elongates after flowering. Of those species R. maculatus is perhaps closest to R. royi G.Simpson from which it differs by the 3-lobed, rather than 3-5-lobed leaves which are either glabrous or scattered with fine hairs particularly toward the lamina margins. In R. royi the leaves are densely and evenly covered in hairs, and while the lobes of R. maculatus are entire those of R. royi are always toothed or crenate. In R. maculatus the peduncles are always glabrous toward the extremities. Fruiting specimens of R. maculatus have 15-25 achenes rather than the 25-35 seen in R. royi.

Flowering

November - February

Flower colours

Yellow

Fruiting

December - April

Propagation technique

Easily grown from fresh seed but prone to powdery mildew in moist or humid climates.

Threats

Not Threatened. An apparently widespread, and at times locally common but generally biologically sparse species.

Etymology

ranunculus: From the Latin ‘rana’ frog, meaning little frog and probably refers to the plants typical marshy habit where frogs abound

maculatus: From the Latin maculatus ‘blotched’

Where To Buy

Not commercially available.

Attribution

Fact Sheet prepared by P.J. de Lange (30 August 2003). Description based on Allan (1961), Webb et al. (1988) and fresh specimens

References and further reading

Allan, H.H. 1961: Flora of New Zealand. Vol. I. Wellington, Government Printer

Webb, C.J.; Sykes, W.R.; Garnock-Jones, P.J. 1988: Flora of New Zealand. Vol. IV. Christchurch, DSIR Botany Division.

Citation

Please cite as: de Lange, P.J. (Year at time of access): Ranunculus maculatus Fact Sheet (content continuously updated). New Zealand Plant Conservation Network. https://www.nzpcn.org.nz/flora/species/ranunculus-maculatus/ (Date website was queried)

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