Ranunculus pilifer

Detailed description

Robust, summer-green, rhizomatous herb up to 400 mm high, forming dense patches up to 1 m across. Rhizomes numerous, stout, fleshy, 10-12 mm diameter, regularly branched, covered with the remains of sheathing petiole bases and vascular strands, with numerous long fleshy roots 2-5 mm diameter; bud scales up to 40 mm long, clasping scape and petiole, abaxial surface moderately to densely covered with pilose hairs, adaxial surface sparsely hairy to glabriate near distal part and glabrous on proximal part. Lamina 60-75 x 75-130 mm, broadly reniform or broadly orbicular in outline, subcoriaceous, adaxial surface grey or grey-green with abaxial surface paler, both surfaces sparsely pilose hairy, glabrate (rarely glabrous), moderately hairy at insertion of petiole, proximal part distinctly veined, divided into 3 primary segments, occasionally further subdivided toward base; segments weakly dissected, with few, oblong to broadly oblong, overlapping lobes, further subdivided into smaller segments with oblong to broadly oblong lobes up to 5-30 mm deep, usually planar or slightly upwardly curved near margin; margin crenate, lobes usually wider than long or of similar width and length, teeth 2-9 mm long, broadly obovate, oblong to broadly oblong, apices obtuse, margin red; petiole 50-250 x 5-9 mm, fleshy, terete; sheath 15-40 mm long, moderately to densely covered with pilose hairs. Scape 80-400 x 5-14 mm, yellow-green or green, basally flushed red, terete with 1-6 flowers, each flower subtended by a leafy bract. Bracts similar to leaves, sessile, smaller toward distal flowers. Peduncles sparsely to moderately hairy, particularly near distal part. Flowers 40-50 mm diameter. Receptacle conical, 9.7-10.0 x 3/5-6.6 mm, often sparsely hairy and with a fringe of retrorse hairs at base, sometimes glabrous. Sepals 4-6, 20-22 x 8-11 mm, yellow-green to light green, oblong, oblong-elliptic or broadly elliptic, sometimes saccate, usually hairy on both surfaces, apex obtuse, often praemorse; nectary a simple pit. Stamens 110-139. glabrous; anthers 1.8-2.8 mm long, cream; filament 1.6-8.5 x 0.7-1.4 mm, translucent, distally tapered. Carpels 126-171 x 4.7-6.1 mm, glabrous or with a small tuft of hairs at base; stigma with minute papillae. Achenes 6.4-7.3 x 2.7-3.4 mm; body obovate, 1.8-2.5 x 1.3-1.7 mm, yellow-brown, surrounded by a wing 0.9-1.0 mm wide; beak curved to ventral side, laterally compressed, tapering toward a point at apex.