Ranunculales

Ranunculales, the buttercup order of flowering plants, containing 7 families, nearly 164 genera, and around 2,830 species. Members of the order range from annual and perennial herbs to herbaceous or woody vines, shrubs, and, in a few cases, trees. They include many ornamentals which are grown in gardens around the world. A variety of alkaloids, some quite noxious to humans or livestock, are generally present. The families in the order are Berberidaceae, Circaeasteraceae, Eupteleaceae, Lardizabalaceae, Menispermaceae, Papaveraceae, and Ranunculaceae.

Along with Buxales, Proteales, Trochodendrales, and Sabiaceae, Ranunculales is part of a group of families and orders known as the peripheral eudicots. One of the main characteristics that distinguish these families and other eudicots from the monocotyledons (species with one embryonic leaf in their seed) and basal angiosperms is the pollen, which typically has three openings (colpi) instead of one. They also lack ethereal oils, which characterize many orders among the basal flowering plants. In Ranunculales, the petals seem to have evolved from staminodes (sterile stamens) rather than bracts (floral leaves), and the carpels are unfused in most members of the order.

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Ranunculaceae, or the buttercup family, is the largest family in the order, with 52 genera and around 1,500 species. Most species in the family are herbs, some are aquatic, and a few are low shrubs or vines (Clematis). Many well-known wild and cultivated flowers in the temperate zone belong to this group. Ranunculus (wild buttercups), with their bright yellow blossoms, are widespread; Caltha (marsh marigolds, also known as cowslips in the United States and as kingcups in England) grow in wet places on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean; and Aquilegia (columbines) are among the most beautiful wildflowers of North America.

The Anemone genus includes wild anemones native to the North Temperate Zone as well as cultivated varieties. Delphinium (larkspurs) includes annuals and perennials cultivated for their strikingly showy flowers. Helleborus (hellebores) include H. niger (the Christmas rose), a southern European native planted in northern gardens for its midwinter blooms. Clematis has more than 300 species in temperate regions, especially in the Northern Hemisphere, and in tropical mountains of Africa. Aconitum (monkshood) is a genus of about 100 hardy perennials of northern mountains; the species are also called wolfsbane because of their toxicity. In particular, Aconitum ferox contains one of the deadliest poisons known. Thalictrum (meadow rue) is another widely recognizable genus with 330 species in northern temperate regions, tropical America, tropical Africa, and South Africa.

Berberidaceae, the barberry family, with 575 species in 4 genera, includes herbs and shrubs that grow in most temperate parts of the world. Berberis, the barberry genus, is the family’s largest genus, with about 400 species and a distribution that covers nearly the entire range of the family. Many cultivated barberry shrubs are handsome, spiny evergreens, with yellow flowers followed by red berries. Mahonia, a thornless shrub genus, consists of about 100 species found from the Himalayas to Japan and Sumatra and in North and Central America. Epimedium is a much cultivated genus of 55 species, native to Europe, the Mediterranean, and Asia. Podophyllum (May apples) consists of forest herbs with parasol-like leaves that are native to the eastern United States and the Himalayan region.

Menispermaceae, or the moonseed family, contains nearly 75 genera and 520 species, most of which are woody climbers in tropical forests, although some genera extend into temperate regions in North America and Japan. Menispermum canadense (Canada moonseed) and other members of the family have characteristic half-moon-shaped seeds. The most important product from Menispermaceae is curare (tubocurarine chloride), which is obtained mostly from Chondrodendron tomentosum, a plant native to Brazil and Peru. The drug is used as a muscle relaxant during surgery.

Lardizabalaceae includes woody vines with separate male and female flowers, such as the cultivated Akebia (chocolate vine). The leaves are compound (made up of leaflets), and the small flowers are in drooping bunches. The family includes 35 species in 8 genera, mostly restricted to China and Japan. However, the genus Lardizabala occurs in central Chile.

Eupteleaceae has only one genus (Euptelea) with two species of deciduous trees native to temperate Southeast Asia. It has strongly toothed leaves and small, wind-pollinated flowers that lack petals or sepals and have separate carpels that develop into disc-shaped winged fruits.

Circaeasteraceae contains one genus with a single species native to China, Nepal, and Buhtan. Circaeaster agrestis is a small herb with dichotomously veined leaves and small flowers with separate carpels.

Papaveraceae, or the poppy family, comprises 200 species in 23 genera (including the former families Fumariaceae and Pteridophyllaceae). Papaveraceae is mostly herbaceous (nonwoody) and is distributed worldwide, primarily in temperate regions. Brightly coloured latex is very characteristic of the family, and often includes powerful alkaloids. Flowers usually have two sepals and four or six petals; they are regular (radially symmetrical) in Papaver (the poppy genus) but are irregular and spurred or form unusual-looking pouches in Corydalis and Dicentra (bleeding heart). Papaver somniferum (opium poppy) is the source of opium and its derivatives: morphine, heroin, and codeine. Poppy fruits are capsules that spill out tiny seeds like pepper shakers; the seeds are often used as a condiment in cakes and pastries. Other ornamentals include Eschscholzia (California poppy) and Sanguinaria (bloodroot).