Ranunculacea - buttercup family

Leaves, Stem & Roots ~ The leaves of this family are usually finely divided or lobed, but are heart-shaped in Ranunculus ficaria (Lesser Celandine) and narrow and undivided in some species of Ranunculus. They usually arise from the base of the plant, or alternately up the stem, but in Clematis they are opposite. The perennial species form a small rhizome or tuber which develops new roots each year.

Flowers ~ The flowers may be solitary, but they are frequently in clusters or spikes. In many species, there are no proper petals, and it is the brightly coloured calyx which forms the 'flower'. There are usually five sepals, although there may be many, and they come in a wide variety of shapes. Those in the genus Ranunculus, the Buttercups, are the only ones which have a true calyx and petals. There are many stamens surrounding many fused carpels.

Seeds ~ The seeds are carried in several different types of fruit. In Actaea (Baneberry), it is a berry; in Clematis, each seed develops a hard woody coating and a fluffy tail, but in most species the seeds develop either as a globe from which they separate when they are riper or inside a (usually five-sided) capsule which splits at maturity to release them (as in Aquilegia.

Examples:
1. Anemone narcissiflora

2. Ranunculus gramineus

Grassy leaves.

Very similar looking to a buttercup.