# Need ID from ditch diving



## asukawashere (Mar 11, 2009)

Hi everyone! I'm currently writing from Destin, FL where I am raiding every slightly damp mud puddle I can find for aquatic goodies to send home. The one I need an ID for at the moment is this:





































It came from a ditch next to a hotel off of I-10 somewhere in Mississippi. No idea what county, we just pulled over there to look at our map on the way to FL and I dove out of the car to investigate the puddle I spotted.

I initially thought it to be a Hydrocotyle species (or a close relative thereof) before I pulled it up, but the more I look at it the more I'm stumped. The apparently rosette crown is odd to me, too. A more informed opinion would be much appreciated.

I'll post more pics of stuff here if I find anything else that has me clueless on this trip 

(Also if anyone has any idea where I could find some Echinodorus cordifolius around the Emerald Coast, pretty please do let me know... )


----------



## Cavan Allen (Jul 22, 2004)

Looks like it could be a _Ranunculus_. Maybe _R. scleratus_. All I can tell looking at a sterile specimen on my phone. . I tried what I think was probably that species one time, and while it did grow, it wasn't so great at all. Its common name is cursed buttercup because it can supposedly cause skin irritation. Don't know if that's true or not, but you might want to wash your hands in case that's it.


----------



## asukawashere (Mar 11, 2009)

I'm not really worried about skin irritation; I collected it 2 days ago and nothing's yet happened. I figure I'm in the clear. Thanks for the warning, though. 

I can't find a good reference for what R. scleratus looks like before blooming, but I think you're probably right, Cavan. The leaf structure is certainly reminiscent of some terrestrial Ranunculus species I've seen, I just don't know the genus well enough to be able to figure out what I'm looking at...

I'll see if I can get a flower from it. I figure I'll put it in my emersed setup for now, it seemed to enjoy growing on the margins of the ditch.  With a little luck and miracle gro, it will hopefully flower and/or propagate. Nice looking plant, at least at the moment.


----------



## Lakeplants (Feb 21, 2011)

I had the same thought; I think it's Ranunculus sceleratus.


----------

