RANUNCULUS AMBIGENS Wats.
Water-plantain Spearwort
FAMILY: Ranunculaceae
HABIT: Perennial herb; stems hollow, ascending, up to 1 m. tall;
flowering June to September.
SIMILAR SPECIES: Ranunculus
ambigens may be confused with R.
hispidus var. caricetorium and
var. nitidus, both grow in similar
wet habitats, however, the later two taxa are repent and stoloniferous,
respectively.
TOTAL RANGE: Maine w. to Minnesota s. to Louisiana,
Tennessee, and Virginia.
STATE RANGE: Pre-1980 records from Clinton, Erie, Franklin,
Gallia, Jackson, Lake, Lorain, Portage, Richland, Ross, Summit and Wayne
counties; Post-1980 records from Geauga and Scioto counties.
STATE STATUS: Added-2002; Extirpated-2004.
HABITAT: Marshes, flood-plain channel ponds, swamps.
HAZARDS: Modifications to wetland hydrology and invasive
species.
RECOVERY POTENTIAL: Possibly good as it once occurred
throughout Ohio.
INVENTORY GUIDELINES: Collect flowering material.
COMMENTS: This species is mysteriously absent from most of
its former range. Although there are a number of marshes and swamps remaining
in Ohio, this species has been collected only once since 1982. Spearwort should
be more frequent than current records indicate. It should be sought in wetland
habitats throughout Ohio.
This
species was recently added to Pennsylvania's rare plant list and currently
ranked G4 by NatureServe (2003).
SELECTED REFERENCES:
Flora of North America Committee eds. 1993+. Flora of North
America North of Mexico. 7+ vols. Oxford
University Press, New York and Oxford.
Mitchell, R. S. and J. K. Dean. 1982. Ranunculaceae (Crowfoot
Family) of New York State. New York State Museum Bulletin 446. The University
of the State of New York, Albany, NY. 100 p.
Division of Natural
Areas and Preserves
Ohio Department of
Natural Resources
Created 3/04 Richard
Gardner