Ranunculus recens
Biostatus
Native – Endemic taxon
Category
Vascular
Structural class
Herbs - Dicotyledons other than Composites
Flower colours
Yellow
Detailed description
Tufted, non-rhizomatous herb forming small circular appressed patches 10-50 mm wide. Petiole broad, flat, usually hairy. Leaves yellow-green, dark green, sometimes blotched or entirely chocolate brown, ovate, 3-lobed to about 1.2 toward base, lobes crenate or shallowly pinnatifid, 8-15(-20) mm, sparsely hairy on margins or glabrous. Flowers solitary, 8-10 mm diam., sessile, or rarely on short hairy scapes. Sepals spreading, sparsely hairy. Petals 5, yellow, linear-oblong, nectary single, 0.5 mm from petal base, with very small scale. Receptacle hairy. achenes 30-60, somewhat flattened, glabrous, brick red with dark tips; beak curved 0.5 mm long.
Similar taxa
A very distinctive plant not easily confused with any other indigenous or naturalised buttercup. It is not closely allied to R. ranceorum, which is a smaller plant of inland southern lake turfs, with quite different, smaller leaves, flowers and chromosome number. Although R. recens shows some distinctive variation with regard to leaf colour this does not seem to be, by itself, worthy of further taxonomic segregation.
Distribution
Endemic to the North, South and Stewart Islands. In the North Island only known from one site in the Moawhango, and from the south Taranaki coastline. In the South Island known from North West Nelson, and the Otago and Foveaux Stait coastline. Local at Masons Bay on Stewart Island. Past records from the Chatham Islands remain unconfirmed and modern field surveys suggest they result from misidentification of seedlings of an complex of unnamed buttercups allied to R. foliosus and R. royi.
Habitat
Mainly coastal but also alpine in one North Island location. A species of turf and peaty soils developed over freshwater seepages.
Current conservation status
The conservation status of all known New Zealand vascular plant taxa at the rank of species and below were reassessed in 2022-2023 using the New Zealand Threat Classification System (NZTCS) – more information about this can be found on the NZTCS website. This report includes replaces all previous NZTCS lists for vascular plants. Previous assessments can be found here.
- Conservation status of vascular plants in Aotearoa New Zealand, 2023. 2024. Peter J. de Lange, Jane Gosden, Shannel P. Courtney, Alexander J. Fergus, John W. Barkla, Sarah M. Beadel, Paul D. Champion, Rowan Hindmarsh-Walls, Troy Makan and Pascale Michel Department of Conservation. Source: NZTCS and licensed by DOC for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence.
2023 | Threatened – Nationally Vulnerable | Qualifiers: Sp, CD, DPT, RR
Threats
A turf species most at risk from weeds and physical damage through trampling by stock and human traffic.
Detailed taxonomy
Genus
Family
Synonyms
None
Endemic taxon
Yes
Endemic genus
No
Endemic family
No
Ecology
Flowering
(September-)- October-November
Fruiting
October -January(-April)
Propagation technique
Easy from fresh seed and remarkably tolerant of most soils and light levels provided plants are well watered. In humid climates plants suffer from powdery mildew.
Wetland plant indicator status rating
Information derived from the revised national wetland plant list prepared to assist councils in delineating and monitoring wetlands (Clarkson et al., 2021 Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research Contract Report LC3975 for Hawke’s Bay Regional Council). The national plant list categorises plants by the extent to which they are found in wetlands and not ‘drylands’. The indicator status ratings are OBL (obligate wetland), FACW (facultative wetland), FAC (facultative), FACU (facultative upland), and UPL (obligate upland). If you have suggestions for the Wetland Indicator Status Rating, please contact: [Enable JavaScript to view protected content]
FAC: Facultative
Commonly occurs as either a hydrophyte or non-hydrophyte (non-wetlands).
Other information
Etymology
ranunculus: From the Latin ‘rana’ frog, meaning little frog and probably refers to the plants typical marshy habit where frogs abound
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.
RANREC
Chromosome number
2n = 48
Previous conservation statuses
The conservation status of all known New Zealand vascular plant taxa at the rank of species and below were reassessed in 2022-2023 using the New Zealand Threat Classification System (NZTCS) – more information about this can be found on the NZTCS website. This report includes replaces all previous NZTCS lists for vascular plants. Previous assessments can be found here.
- Conservation status of vascular plants in Aotearoa New Zealand, 2023. 2024. Peter J. de Lange, Jane Gosden, Shannel P. Courtney, Alexander J. Fergus, John W. Barkla, Sarah M. Beadel, Paul D. Champion, Rowan Hindmarsh-Walls, Troy Makan and Pascale Michel Department of Conservation. Source: NZTCS and licensed by DOC for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence.
2017 | Threatened – Nationally Vulnerable | Qualifiers: CD, RR, Sp, St
2012 | Threatened – Nationally Vulnerable | Qualifiers: RR, Sp, St
2009 | At Risk – Declining | Qualifiers: St, Sp
2004 | Gradual Decline
Regional conservation statuses
Otago: 2025 | Regionally Threatened – Regionally Critical | Qualifiers: NStr, PF, RR, Sp, TL
The regional threat classification system leverages off the national assessments in the NZTCS, providing information relevant for the regional context. Otago conservation status information is sourced from the “Conservation Status of Indigenous Vascular Plants in Otago, 2025” Jarvie S et al. (2025) report.
Referencing and citations
References and further reading
Allan, H.H. 1961: Flora of New Zealand. Vol. I. Wellington, Government Printer
de Lange, P.J.; Murray, B.G. 2008: Ranunculus ranceorum, a new name and rank for Ranunculus recens var. lacustris G.Simpson, an elusive, rarely seen buttercup of the Fiordland lakes, South Island, New Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Botany 46: 1-11.
Webb, C.J.; Sykes, W.R.; Garnock-Jones, P.J. 1988: Flora of New Zealand. Vol. IV. Christchurch, DSIR Botany Division.
Attribution
Fact Sheet prepared by P.J. de Lange (30 August 2003). Description based on Allan (1961), Webb et al. (1988) and fresh specimens - see also de Lange & Murray (2008).
Some of this factsheet information is derived from Flora of New Zealand Online and is used under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 New Zealand licence.
NZPCN Fact Sheet citation
Please cite as: de Lange, P.J. (Year at time of access): Ranunculus recens Fact Sheet (content continuously updated). New Zealand Plant Conservation Network. https://www.nzpcn.org.nz/flora/species/ranunculus-recens/ (Date website was queried)