Image: Wikimedia Commons (See link for license)
Buttercup family🌸
Ranunculaceae
キンポウゲ科
A large family of about 60 genera and 2,500 species including Ranunculus, Anemone, Clematis, Aconitum, and Aquilegia. Belongs to a basal group of the eudicots, retaining many primitive floral features with diverse flower morphology.
Key Characteristics
- ●Number of petals and sepals variable (typically 5 but highly variable)
- ●Stamens and carpels numerous, spirally arranged
- ●Many species contain alkaloids (aconitine, anemonin, etc.)
- ●Mostly herbaceous, rarely woody climbers (Clematis)
- ●Leaves mostly deeply lobed or compound
Morphological Traits
A family may include species with different trait values — multiple values indicate the range within the family.
Leaf arrangement
Alternate / Opposite
Leaf type
Simple / Compound
Venation
Pinnate / Palmate
Leaf margin
Serrate / Dentate / Entire / Crenate
Growth form
Shrub / Herb / Vine
Evergreen/Deciduous
Deciduous
Compound type
Bipinnate / Palmate / Pinnate
Leaf dissection
Dissected / Undivided
Stipules
Present / Absent
Aromatic
Foetid / None
Flower symmetry
Actinomorphic / Zygomorphic
Petal count
5 petals / 6 petals / Many
Petal fusion
Free
Ovary position
Superior
Stamen count
3-4
Plant sex
Dioecious / Hermaphrodite
Phylogenetic Position
Angiosperms > Basal eudicots > Ranunculales > Ranunculaceae
Divergence Era
Late Cretaceous (approx. 90–80 million years ago)
Representative Genera
Related Evolution Events
- ・Diversification of floral architecture (petal modification, nectary formation, etc.)
- ・Establishment of herbivore defense through potent alkaloids
- ・Rapid diversification of floral spurs (nectar-bearing projections) in Aquilegia
Plants in Buttercup family on this site
AI-generated, needs verification