Ranunculaceae: Characters, Economic Importance, Distribution and Types

Diagnostic characters of Ranunculaceae:

1. Habits: Annual or perennial herbs.

2. Roots: Tuberous root.

3. Stem: Herbaceous stem, develops Rhizome.

4. Leaves: Petiolate, Alternate rarely opposite, simple or compound exstipulate, reticulate venation.

5. Inflorescence: Cymose, sometimes raceme. 

6. Flower: Pedicillate, ebracteate, actinomorphic, Regular, complete hermaphrodite, hypogynous.

7. Calyx: 5 sepals, free, imbricate, petaloid.

8. Corolla: 3-5 or more petals, free, imbricate, sometimes petals maybe absent, sometimes petals are changed into nectaries.

9. Stamens: Stamens are numerous, free, spirally arranged, and basifixed.

10. Carpel: Numerous carpels, polycarpillary; ovary simple, apocarpous - one to several ovules in each ovary, placentation basal or marginal.

11. Fruits: An etaerio or achenes or follicles, sometime berry or capsules.

12. Seed: Endospermic seed.

Floral formula of Ranunculaceae:

Floral diagram of Ranunculaceae:

Economic Importance of Ranunculaceae:

1. Ornamental plants of Ranunculaceae:

Nearly all plants are cultivated in parks, gardens and in houses for their beautiful flowers like Buttercup, Larkspur etc.

2. Medicinal plants of Ranunculaceae:

Several members are used as medicinal plants in pharceutics. Aconitum yields / capitulate an alkaloid aconitina. Thallictrum yields mamira. It is globally used in the treatment of ophthalmia. 

3. Condiments:

Certain members are used as condiments. For example, seeds of Nigella (it's a kind of drug). It is also used as drugs/narcotize.

4. Weeds:

Some members are weeds like R. muricatus - Ranunculus muricatus generally known as rough-fruited buttercup / spinyfruit buttercup.

5. Importance of Ranunculaceae for honey:

Most members of this family have nectaries / honey gland. These nectaries have great significance for honey bees.

6. Poisonous species of Ranunculaceae:

Some members of this family produce acrid juice / strong and usually unpleasant. It is highly poisonous / venomous.

Distribution pattern of Ranunculaceae:

It is a large family. It has 20 genera and 1200 species. It is mostly distributed in colder regions. Its members are vastly found in Himalayan region of Pakistan and India.

Important Species of Ranunculaceae:

1. Ranunculus muricatus generally known as Butter cup.

2. Delphinium ajacis generally known as Larkspur.

3. Ranunculus muricatus generally known as a weed.

4. Aconitum uncinatum generally known as a wild herb.