Participant Info

Species

Ranunculus sceleratus [Hecatonia sceleratus] [Ranunculus earlei]

Family

Ranunculaceae

CommonName

cursed buttercup, blister buttercup

Presence

YES

Status

native

EarliestDate

1896

LatestDate

2023

Ecosystem

shrubland, montane, subalpine

Geobotanical

Garitas, SSanjuans, NCristos, UBasin

Counties

Mineral, Saguache

Passes

WildlifePreserves

Baca, Russell Lakes

Other Localities

PhotoRecords

YES Duane A. Dyer: Conejos Co, Cumbres pass 20 June 2023

Comments

There are few records of cursed buttercup in the Watershed. The earliest is from Villa Grove in 1896, then a century later along the Continental Divide in Mineral Co (1997). Later locations for Ranunculus sceleratus are the Baca NWR (2013); Humphrey’s Ranch S of Creede (2014); and along Hwy 17 near Cumbres pass in Conejos Co (2023, iNaturalist observation 169774755). The range of elevation of Ranunculus sceleratus is characteristic of this native buttercup. It is present in every state of the USA, and follows the Rio Grande drainage through New Mexico and, spottily, on down through Texas to the Gulf of Mexico.

Annotation