Participant Info

Species

Ranunculus abortivus

Family

Ranunculaceae

CommonName

littleleaf buttercup, kidneyleaf buttercup

Presence

Yes

Status

native

EarliestDate

1940

LatestDate

2023

Ecosystem

montane

Geobotanical

SSanjuans, NCristos

Counties

Conejos, Mineral, Rio Grande, Saguache

Passes

WildlifePreserves

Russell Lakes

Other Localities

PhotoRecords

YES Craig Martin: Alamosa Co, 1.2 miles east of Mosca Creek trailhead 9 June 2023

Comments

For Ranunculus abortivus there are only four Watershed records: Mineral Co, “South Fork, 7 miles west” (Ramaley 1940); Conejos Co, “Near Sheep Creek, 2.5 mi W of Aspen Glade Campground, 2.1 mi SSE of Spruce Hole” (1986); Saguache Co, “Along Hudson Branch Medano Creek” (2008); and Alamosa Co, along Mosca Creek, iNaturalist observation 166899176 (Craig Martin, June 2023). An uncommon Colorado Watershed buttercup growing in mesic shady habitats, it is even more uncommon in New Mexico, with only a few records from Rio Arriba and Taos counties (the farthest south in the Rio Grande drainage). These lie at the extreme southwestern corner of the USA distribution. The buttercup is common east of the Great Plains and scattered in the north Plains and the South and Central Rocky Mountains.

Annotation