Ranunculaceae

Ranunculaceae Temporal range: Cretaceous–Recent
Ranunculus auricomus (type species)
Scientific classification
Kinrick:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Eudicots
Order:	Ranunculales
Faimily:	Ranunculaceae Juss.
Subfaimilies
Hydrastidoideae Glaucidioideae Coptoideae Thalictroideae Ranunculoideae

Ranunculaceae (buttercup or crowfoot faimily; Latin rānunculus "little frog", frae rāna "frog") is a faimily o aboot 1700 species o flouerin plants in aboot 60 genera, distributit warldwide.

The lairgest genera are Ranunculus (600 speshies), Delphinium (365), Thalictrum (330), Clematis (325), an Aconitum (300).

Description

Achenes on the fruit o Pulsatilla alpina ssp. alpina.

Ranunculaceae are maistly yerbaceous plants, but wi some widy climbers (sic as Clematis) an subshrubs (e.g. Xanthorhiza).

Flouer diagram o Adonis autumnalis frae Strasburger et al. 1900

Memmers o the Ranunculaceae uisually hae five coloured sepals insteid o petals (except buttercups), an dividit leaves an nonwidy tissue (except clematis). [1] Leaves are uisually dividit or lobed, but are hert-shaped or nairae an undividit in some speshies o Ranunculus, an uisually arise frae the base o the plant, or alternately up the stem, but in Clematis thay are opposite. Perennial speshies furm smaa rhizomes or tubers which develop new ruits each year.

Flouers mey be solitary, but are frequently foond aggregatit in cymes, panicles, or spikes. Mony speshies hae na true petals, an the 'flouer' is furmed bi a brichtly coloured group o sepals cried a calyx. Thare are uisually five sepals per flouer, tho thay come in a wide variety o shapes. Ranunculus (buttercups) is the anly genus in this faimily wi a true calyx an petals. Thare are mony stamens surroundin mony fused carpels.

The fruit is maist commonly a follicle (e. g. Helleborus, Nigella) or an achene (e. g. Ranunculus, Clematis).

Ranunculaceae contain protoanemonin, which is toxic tae humans an ainimals. Ither pushionous or toxic compooonds, alkaloids an glycosides, are an aa very common.

Taxonomy

The faimily Ranunculaceae is includit in the Ranunculales which is the sole order o the Ranunculanae, a superorder o eudicots accordin tae APG 3 systematics. The phylogeny is well illustratit in

Taxonomic comparisons

­Accordin tae Dr John David, (2010) the Ranuculaceae are combined wi the Eupteleaceae, Lardizabalaceae, Menispermaceae, Berberidaceae, an Papaveraceae in the Ranunculales, the anly order in the superorder Ranunculanae. This follaes the wirk o the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group.

Takhtajan 1997 includes the Ranunculaceae as the anly faimily in the Ranunculales which he placed in a subclass, the Ranunculidae, insteid o a superorder. Previously, Thorn 1992 placed the Ranunculaceae in the Berberidales, an order within the Superorder Magnolianae. Earlier Cronquist in 1981 includit the Ranunculaceae alang wi seiven ether faimilies in the Rancunculales which wis includit in the Magnoliidae, which he regardit as a subclass.

The cladogram belaw is accordin tae the APG II seestem, based on molecular phylogeny.

	Glaucidoideae     Hydrastidoideae         Coptoideae       Ranunculoideae     Thalictroideae

The genus Glaucidium wis ance put in its ain faimily (Glaucidiaceae), but haes been recently recognised as a primitive memmer o Ranunculaceae. Tamura (1993) recognised five subfaimilies, mainly based on chromosomic an floral characteristics (Hydrastidoideae, Thalictroideae, Isopyroideae, Ranunculoideae, Helleboroideae).

Hydrastidoideae an Glaucidioideae hae anly ane species, Hydrastis canadense an Glaucidium palmatum respectively. Coptoideae haes 17 species an Thalictroideae haes 450, includin Thalictrum an Aquilegia. The ither genera (2025 species, 81% o the faimily) belang tae Ranunculoideae.

Some aulder classifications includit Paeonia (peony) in Ranunculaceae but this genus is nou placed in its ain faimily, Paeoniaceae in order Saxifragales. Circaeaster an Kingdonia are nou placed in Circaeasteraceae.

Fossil record

Fossils o fruits, pollen, seeds, an leaves are kent frae several dozen locations. The fossil record begins in the early Cretaceous an continues throughoot the Tertiary. In maist cases, the fossils are assigned tae extant genera, or shaw a close relationship tae a parteecular extant genus.

Uises

Some Ranunculaceae are uised as yerbal medicines acause o thair alkaloids an glycosides, sic as Hydrastis canadensis (goldenseal), whose ruit is uised as a tonic.

Mony genera are weel kent as cultivatit flouers, sic as Aconitum (monkshuid), Consolida (larkspur), Delphinium, Helleborus (Christenmas rose), Trollius (globeflouer).

The seeds o Nigella sativa, are uised as a spice in Indie an Middle Eastren cuisine.

Genera

Aconitum L. Actaea L. Adonis L. Anemoclema (Franch.) W.T.Wang Anemone L. Anemonopsis Siebold & Zuccarini Aquilegia L. Asteropyrum J.R.Drumm. & Hutch. Barneoudia Gay Beesia Balf.f. & W.W.Sm. Calathodes Hook.f. & Thomson Callianthemum C.A.Mey. Caltha L.

Ceratocephala Moench Cimicifuga Wernisch. Clematis L. Consolida Gray Coptis Salisb. Delphinium L. Dichocarpum W.T.Wang & P.K.Hsiao Enemion Rafinesque Eranthis Salisb. Glaucidium Siebold & Zuccarini Halerpestes Greene Hamadryas Comm. ex Juss. Helleborus L.

Hydrastis L. Isopyrum L. Knowltonia Salisb. Laccopetalum Ulbr. Leptopyrum Reichenbach Metanemone W.T.Wang Miyakea Miyabe & Tatew. Myosurus L. Naravelia Adans. Nigella L. Oreithales Schltdl. Oxygraphis Bunge Paraquilegia J.R.Drumm. & Hutch.

Paroxygraphis W.W.Sm. Ranunculus L. Semiaquilegia Makino Souliea Franch. Thalictrum L. Trautvetteria Fisch. & C.A.Mey. Trollius L. Urophysa Ulbr. Xanthorhiza Marshall

Anemonella Spach → Thalictrum

Hepatica Mill. Pulsatilla Mill. → Anemone

Psychrophila (DC.) Bercht. & J.Presl → Caltha

Gallery

Flowers

• 
  Aconitum napellus
• 
  Actaea spicata
• 
  Adonis annua
• 
  Anemone nemorosa
• 
  Anemone hepatica = Hepatica nobilis
• 
  Anemone pulsatilla = Pulsatilla vulgaris
• 
  Aquilegia canadensis
• 
  Caltha palustris
• 
  Clematis montana
• 
  Delphinium elatum hybrid
• 
  Eranthis hyemalis
• 
  Helleborus × hybridus
• 
  Myosurus minimus
• 
  Hydrastis canadensis
• 
  Nigella damascena
• 
  Ranunculus repens
• 
  Thalictrum aquilegifolium
• 
  Trollius europaeus

Fruit

Follicle

• 
  Helleborus niger
• 
  Nigella arvensis

Achene

• 
  Pulsatilla or Anemone alpina
• 
  Ranunculus acris

See also

• Leet o Anemone species

References

Notes

General references

• Stevens, P. F. (2001 onwards). Angiosperm Phylogeny Website. Version 7, Mey 2006 [an mair or less continuously updated syne]. [2]
• (in Italian) Sandro Pignatti, Flora d'Italia, Edagricole, Bologna 1982. ISBN 88-506-2449-2
• Tamura, M.: "Ranunculaceae.", en Kubitzki, K., Rohwer, J.G. & Bittrich, V. (Editores). The Families an Genera o Vascular Plants. II. Flowering Plants - Dicotyledons..- Springer-Verlag: Berlín, 1993.- ISBN 3-540-55509-9
• Strasburger, Noll, Schenck, Schimper: Lehrbuch der Botanik für Hochschulen. 4. Auflage, Gustav Fischer, Jena 1900, p. 459 (flouer diagrams)

Freemit airtins

• Flora of North America: Ranunculaceae
• Flora of China: Ranunculaceae
• Ranunculaceae in Topwalks Archived 2011-10-03 at the Wayback Machine
• Ranunculaceae
• Ranunculaceae Archived 2007-01-03 at the Wayback Machine in L. Watson an M.J. Dallwitz (1992 onwards). The families of flowering plants Archived 2007-01-03 at the Wayback Machine.
• NCBI Taxonomy Browser
• links at CSDL, Texas Archived 2006-04-18 at the Wayback Machine
• Japanese Ranunculaceae Archived 2007-09-30 at the Wayback Machine - Flavon's airt gallery
• Family Ranunculaceae Archived 2011-10-12 at the Wayback Machine Flowers in Israel