ROMSO Cyprus Knowledge Base

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The plant genus Roosterfoot (Ranunculus), also called Ranunkel, belongs to the family of Roosterfoot plants (Ranunculaceae). The more than 600 species are distributed almost worldwide.

Origin of name
The German-speaking trivial name Hahnenfuß refers to the birdfoot-like foliage leaves. Since the Middle Ages, it has been covered as hanenvuoz mostly for Ranunculazeen with three- to five-part leaves.

Description

Vegetative characteristics
Roosterfoot species grow as an annual or perennial herbaceous plant. Most species thrive terrestrial, some species as marsh plants and few species as flooding aquatic plants. Depending on the type, tuberous storage roots, rhizomes, stolons or a tuberous stem base can be formed. The upright, rising to low-lying, rarely flooding stem is usually foliaged.

The foliage leaves, which are usually arranged alternately, both on the base and distributed on the stem, can be stalked. Rarely is the top pair of leaf opposing (Ranunculus sect). Flammula. The leaf stem has a leaf sheath at its base. The leaf spread can be undivided, usually it is divided more or less deep. The blade edge is smooth, notched, toothed or sawn.

Inflorescence and flowers
The flowers stand together individually or two to fifty in terminal or lateral, single or branched, up to 25 cm large, cymous flower positions. Small to large leaf-like elevated leaves may be present.

The twilight flowers are radially symmetrical. The soil (receptaculum) is more or less convex. The flowering soil sometimes forms an androgynophore, for example in Ranunculus angustisepalus. There are usually five (three to seven) free, 1 to 15 mm long chalice leaves, which are mostly green, sometimes dark red to purple, yellow or white; They are usually flat and usually fall away faster than the crown leaves. Very rarely, in Ranunculus angustisepalus the chalice leaves have appendages, or in Ranunculus ficaria the base is sack-shaped. The usually five (three to ten) free crown leaves are often referred to as nectar leaves, they are nailed, flat, with a length of 1 to 26 mm linear to circular and have a nectar gland at their base, which is usually covered by a scale. The nectar leaves are often yellow and lacquer shining on the inside by oil drops in the outermost upper skin, in some species also white, but then with a yellow center, very rarely they are red. There are usually many, rarely only five to ten fertile stamens present. The usually many (4 to 250) free fruit leaves are rarely stalked, for example in Ranunculus podocarpus. Each fruit leaf contains only one basal seed plant. Usually a pencil is also recognizable on the fruit, rarely none is trained. Usually stigmatic tissue is distributed on the stylus, rarely a recognizable scar is formed.

Fruit and seeds
Standing v