Plants of South Eastern New South Wales
Ranunculus graniticola
Common name
Granite buttercup
Family
Ranunculaceae
Where found
Alpine, subalpine and montane areas. Woodland, grassland, and alpine herbfields. Ranges south from Deua National Park, tablelands south and east of the ACT, ACT, the mountains to the west, and Kosciuszko National Park. Occasionally elsewhere.
Notes
Perennial herb to 0.4 m high. Flowering stems hairy with appressed or spreading hairs, usually unbranched. Leaves mostly basal, 1–6 cm long, oval to round, deeply dissected to compound with 3 lobes or leaflets, the lobes/leaflets toothed or further lobed, surfaces with long spreading hairs. Flowers glossy yellow, with 5-8 petals each 6–20 mm long. Some flowers have dark centres. This character is inconsistent, even within a single population. Sepals spreading. Nectary pouch at the base of the petals oblong or triangular, not broadest in the upper part. Flowers usually single, occasionally in clusters of 1-3. Flower stalks usually unbranched. Flowering: summer. Seeds usually 20–50, 2–3.5 mm long, lens shaped to almost glabular, sides smooth; beak stout or slender, 0.7–1 mm long, arching or strongly curved.
Hybrids between Ranunculus millanii and Ranunculus graniticola have been given the name Ranunculus x ligulatus. Also hybridises with Ranunculus dissectifolius, Ranunculus muelleri, Ranunculus pimpinellifolius, and other species.
All native plants on unleased land in the ACT are protected.
PlantNET description: http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Ranunculus~graniticola (accessed 4 February, 2021)
This identification key and fact sheets are available as a free mobile application:
