Kidney-leaf or Littleleaf Buttercup [Ranunculus abortivus] found by the roadside in Fletcher, North Carolina on 29 March 2022. It’s a member of the Buttercup (Ranunculaceae) family. One common name is derived from its kidney-shaped basal leaf. Peterson’s Field Guide to Wildflowers, page 132, says it can be found in “woods and damp thickets,” with tiny petals that make it “inconspicuous.” National Wildlife Federation’s Wildflowers of North America, page 465, states it blooms in early spring-summer in “woods, meadows, and disturbed places.”
USDA Plants Listing: Ranunculus abortivus
Kidney-leaf Buttercup – 29 Mar 2022 – flower
Kidney-leaf Buttercup – 29 Mar 2022 – upper
Kidney-leaf Buttercup – 29 Mar 2022 – basal leaves
