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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Washington, D.C. » National Arboretum » Floral and Nursery Plants Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #209146
Title: Ranunclulaceae

Author
item PARFITT, BRUCE - UNIV OF MICHIGAN AT FLINT
item Whittemore, Alan

Submitted to: Flora of the San Juan Basin
Publication Type: Book / Chapter
Publication Acceptance Date: 11/2/2007
Publication Date: 10/13/2013
Citation: Parfitt, B.D., Whittemore, A.T. 2013. Ranunclulaceae. Flora of the San Juan Basin. 877-895.

Interpretive Summary: This contribution will form a section of The Flora of the San Juan Basin, a detailed floristic manual that provides up-to date information on the taxonomy, distribution, and ecological status of all plants that grow outside of cultivation (either wild or escaped from cultivation) in the Four Corners area of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah, together with a guide for identification, aimed at professional and sophisticated amateur users. The taxonomy, distribution, and ecological status of all species of Aquilegia, Ceratocephala, Myosurus, and Ranunculus that occur outside cultivation in this area is reevaluated, based primarily on a thorough reexamination of available herbarium specimens, and a guide for identification is supplied. Twenty-five species in these four genera are included. Two of these are invasive species introduced from Eurasia, the other twenty-three are native to the area. Two of the four genera include species that are important for ornamental horticulture in the United States. This contribution provides up-to-date information on the biology of this group of species, along with identification aids. It will support accurate identification and classification of species of this family. It will be used by professional land managers, educators, conservationists, and sophisticated amateur botanists and horticulturalists, promoting the use of native germplasm with considerable horticultural potential and insuring that work on land management and conservation will be based on full, accurate and up-to-date information about the basic biology and relationships of these organisms.

Technical Abstract: Four genera of the family Ranunculaceae are treated for The Flora of the San Juan Basin, a detailed floristic manual covering the Four Corners area of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. Twenty-five species in these four genera are included; full morphological descriptions, dichotomous keys, and brief summaries of geographical and ecological distribution, economic use, and taxonomic notes are given for each of them. Two of these are invasive species introduced from Eurasia, the other twenty-three are native to the area. Two of the four genera include species that are important for ornamental horticulture in the United States. This contribution will promote the recognition and exploitation of native germplasm with considerable horticultural potential, and ensure that work on land management and monitoring of exotic species outside of cultivation will rely on accurate identification and classification of these plants.