Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk (PIER)

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Ranunculus repens
L., Ranunculaceae
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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Common name(s): [more details]

Chinese: fu zhi mao gen

English: butter daisy, creeping buttercup, creeping crowfoot

French: renoncule rampante

Spanish: botón de oro rastrero, ranúnculo rastrero

Habit:  herb

Description:  "Stoloniferous and rhizomatous perennial herbs; stems prostrate and rooting at least at the lower nodes or weakly erect, 1-9 dm long, sparsely to densely hirsute.  Basal leaves ternately compound, leaflets broadly ovate, 1.5-8 cm long and wide, deeply lobed or divided and toothed, both surfaces sparsely to moderately appressed pubescent.  Flowers few in cymes; receptacle broadly conical, very short, pubescent; sepals 5, green or purple-tinged, lanceolate, 5-8 mm long, spreading or erect; petals 5-7, yellow, obovate-cuneate, 5-13 mm long, base with a truncate nectary scale.  Achenes 20-25 in a subglobose head, obovoid, 2.5-3 mm long, margined, the faces smooth, beak ca. 1 mm long, tapering from a broad base, recurved"  (Wagner et al., 1999; p. 1090).

Habitat/ecology:  "Forest, grassland, riparian habitats, freshwater wetlands.  Where native,this plant grows in wet grassland, woods, marshes, streamsides, and dune slacks.  It is a highly variable species in the native range.  The plant spreads rapidly where competition is low and forms dense swards that eliminate native vegetation.  Seedlings establish readily on bare ground.  It is an important agricultural weed and also invades natural plant communities"  (Weber, 2003; p. 354).

"Spreads rapidly in damp areas and drainage lines which are disturbed and nutrient-rich, displacing native plants"  (Weeds of Blue Mountains bushland).  In Hawai‘i, "naturalized in fields and pastures, sometimes in disturbed wet forest along streams, 600-1,460 m"  (Wagner et al., 1999; p. 1090).

Propagation:  Seed.  "Creeping Buttercup is dispersed by the dumping of garden waste, and spreads by means of its stolons. Seeds are also dispersed by water, and in the feces of horses, cattle and birds"  (Weeds of Blue Mountains bushland).  "The plant has a large seed bank and seeds remain viable for several years"  (Weber, 2003; p. 354).

Native range:  Europe (Wagner et al., 1999; p. 1090).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. &
Island group
Location Cited status &
Cited as invasive &
Cited as cultivated &
Cited as aboriginal introduction?
Reference &
Comments
Australia (Pacific offshore islands)
Norfolk Islands
Norfolk Island introduced
invasive
Orchard, Anthony E., ed. (1994) (p. 10)
"An introduced weed which thrives in damp soil". Voucher cited: W. Laing s.n. (CHR)
State of Hawaii
Hawaiian Islands
Hawai‘i (Big) Island introduced
invasive
Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 1090)
New Caledonia
New Caledonia Archipelago
Île Grande Terre introduced
invasive
MacKee, H. S. (1994) (p. 120)
Voucher cited: MacKee 41022
Spontané
Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. &
Island group
Location Cited status &
Cited as invasive &
Cited as cultivated &
Cited as aboriginal introduction?
Reference &
Comments
Australia
Australia (continental)
New South Wales introduced
invasive
Harley, Barbara (2009)
Australia
Australia (continental)
Australia (continental) introduced
invasive
U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
China
China
China (People's Republic of)   Zhengyi, Wu/Raven, Peter H./Deyuan, Hong (2013)
"Meadows, moist places, by streams; 300-3300 m".
China
China
China (People's Republic of)   Hafliger, Toni J./Wolf, Matthias (1988) (p. 68)
Japan
Japan
Japan   Holm, Leroy/Pancho, Juan V./Herberger, James P./Plucknett, Donald L. (1979) (p. 304)
Japan
Japan
Japan introduced
Mito, Toshikazu/Uesugi, Tetsuro (2004) (p. 182)
New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand (country) introduced
invasive
Webb, C. J./Sykes, W. R./Garnock-Jones, P. J. (1988) (p. 1023)
"Wet ground, waste places, pasture, ditches, roadsides, river banks, gardens".
South America (Pacific rim)
South America (Pacific rim)
Chile (Republic of) introduced
invasive
Belov, Michail (2013)
Indian Ocean
Country/Terr./St. &
Island group
Location Cited status &
Cited as invasive &
Cited as cultivated &
Cited as aboriginal introduction?
Reference &
Comments
Mascarene Islands
Mascarene Islands (Mauritius, La Reunion, Rodrigues)
Mascarene Islands introduced
invasive
U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)

Control: 

Physical:  "Small patches may be removed manually, roots must be removed.  Repeated cutting may reduce the plant's vigour".

Chemical:  "Effective herbicides are 2,4-D or MCPA"  (Weber, 2003; p. 354).


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This page was created on 2 MAR 2007 and was last updated on 23 AUG 2011.