Ranunculus scapiger

Cotter River, ACT

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Identification history

Ranunculus scapiger	13 Nov 2015	MichaelMulvaney
Ranunculus scapiger	10 Nov 2015	BettyDonWood
Ranunculus plebeius	1 Nov 2015	KenT

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User's notes

Could have been more present but it was just coming into flower among other plants with similar leaves

2 comments

BettyDonWood wrote:

11 Nov 2015

Without mature seeds, the PlantNET key does not differentiate between these two species. I am inclined towards R. scapiger because the PlantNET description says R. plebeius has branched flowering stems and R. scapiger does not, and that I have seen R. scapiger not far from this site. My experience of R. plebeius is that it is mainly coastal. PlantNET, however, does say it gets up to 1000 m altitude.

KenT wrote:

11 Nov 2015

Thanks Betty, I hope to get back in that area over summer to find these plants again this time with seeds. If you look at the photo of a herbarium sheet for R. scapiger it does show a branched flowering stem but not to the same extent as the one for R. plebeius. Although none of this probably helps as I suspect it may have been too early in the season for this plant to demonstrate whatever branching habit it may develop, but there does appear to be some development occurring in the upper stem leaf axil of image one. So at this stage you a right the PlantNET key isn't of much use and since I'd not seen (to identify) either of these species before, I looked at the CNM records where R. plebeius was more frequently recorded and the image looked closer to mine than that of the one for R. scapiger. I really need to go back when there are some mature seeds on the plant.

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