Online Flora of the Maltese Islands by Stephen Mifsud
 
     
   6 Aug 2026      ()
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Ranunculus muricatus   (Scilly Buttercup)


Ranunculus muricatus  (RANUNCULACEAE.) 
Images for this profile are taken from the Maltese Islands after year 2000.


Website launch: Oct-2002   Taxonomic update: Aug-2026    Code update: Jul-2026

Page Contents + Links

 
General Information Species Images
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Ranunculaceae Index Plant Family Index
 
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Datasheet Publication: Oct-2007 (last update: none)
Citation for this page Mifsud, S. (2007). Online Flora of the Maltese Islands (2002-2026): Ranunculus muricatus - datasheet published on Oct-2007. Retrieved on 06-Aug-2026 from https://www.MaltaWildPlants.com/RANU/#RANU

Nomenclature and General Information

Species name :

Ranunculus muricatusL.
Published in Sp. Pl. : 555 (1753)

Synonyms :
(basionym or principal syn.)

Notophilus muricatus Fourr.
Full list of synonyms : [Euro+Med] [WFO] [IPNI] [POWO] [Catalogue of Life] [Worldplants.de]

Plant Family :

Ranunculaceae Juss. (The Buttercup Family)
23 species from the Ranunculaceae family are recorded from the Maltese Islands.

English name(s) :

Scilly Buttercup, Rough-fruited Buttercup, Spiny-fruited Buttercup

Maltese name(s) :

Ċfolloq tat-tajn

Status for Malta :

Indigenous. Present on the Maltese islands before man

Frequency :

Very Common     Common    Frequent     Scarce     Rare    Very rare    Extinct

Growth form :

Germination type [info]: Dicotyledon
Raunkiaer lifeform [info]: Therophyte ( annual plants, herbaceous, die after fruiting/seeding stage )

Legal Protection :

Not legally protected till the last update of this website (22/Aug/2025)

Red List (1989) :

Not listed in the Red Data Book of the Maltese Islands

Flowering Time :

February – May

Colour of Flowers:

Yellow

Toxicity:

Mildy toxic, can cause adverse conditions if consumed in large quantities

Name Derivation :

Ranunculus: from rana which means a small frog given because many species tend to grow in moist, wet or marshy places where frogs are found. (Latin origin)
muricatus: ()

Planting in rural areas :

Can be planted in rural areas according to ERA Guidelines


Description, Habitat and Distribution
Botanical Description More or less glabrous annual up to c. 50 cm. Leaves all similar, coarsely crenate-dentate and often shallowly lobed. Honey-leaves little longer than the sepals. Achenes 7-8 mm, ovate, spiny, with a broad, smooth margin; beak 2-3 mm, nearly straight.
Habitat in Europe Damp, often disturbed ground.
Preferred habitat in Malta Data will be available in the next update of this website.
Chromosome number(s) 2n=32, 48, 64
Distributional range S. Europe.

Distributional maps from various sources
Occurrences in Europe
(from Flora Europaea till 1993)
Albania, the Balaeric Islands, Bulgaria, Corse, Crete, France (incl. Monaco and Channel Islands but excluding Corse), Greece, Spain (incl. Andorra but excl. the Balaerics), Italy (mainland, excl. Sicily and Sardinia), ex-Jugoslavia, Portugal, Romania, Russia and former USSR, Sardinia, Sicily and/or Malta, Turkey (European part), Introduced in  the Azores, Britain (excl. Northern Ireland and Channel islands)
Occurrences in Europe
(from Euro+Med Checklist till 2024)
  Country codes  
Ab(A) AE(G) Ag Al Ar BH Bl(I M N) Bu dCa(C G H P T) Cg Co Cr Ct Cy Eg Ga(F M) Gg(A D G) Gr He Hs(S) Ir It Jo Le Li Lu Ma Mk Rf(CS) Rm Sa Si(M S) Sl Sy Tn Tu(A E) Uk(K U) [nAz(F G L M P S T) Br aDa aGe aHb(N) nMd(M P) Mo aNo aSu]

Links & Further literature (0 papers)

Google Web

Google Images

Google Scholar

Research Gate

Wikipedia

JSTOR

GBIF

Med Checklist

Cat. of Life

EoL

IPNI

World Flora Online

Plants of the World Online

Vienna Virt. Herb.

RBGE Herbarium

KEW Herbarium

MNHN

Garden Database

IUCN

TROPICOS
Kindly Email if there are papers and publications about local studies or information about this species to be included in the list above.

Species Images (10 images)
   Ranunculus muricatus   -   Image Code: RNNMU-0.
   Ranunculus muricatus   -   Image Code: RNNMU-1.
   Ranunculus muricatus   -   Image Code: RNNMU-2.
   Ranunculus muricatus   -   Image Code: RNNMU-3.
   Ranunculus muricatus   -   Image Code: RNNMU-4.
   Ranunculus muricatus   -   Image Code: RNNMU-5.
   Ranunculus muricatus   -   Image Code: RNNMU-6.
   Ranunculus muricatus   -   Image Code: RNNMU-7.
   Ranunculus muricatus   -   Image Code: RNNMU-8.
   Ranunculus muricatus   -   Image Code: RNNMU-9.

Sales and Donations
Sales of seeds of wild plant from Malta:  Seeds of selected wild plant species may be available for academic studies, research purposes, or personal use. Please note that not all species can be supplied or exported. Availability is subject to seasonal seed production, stock levels, and applicable regulations, including Maltese legislation and CITES requirements where relevant. Protected and endemic species cannot be sold (at least without the relevant environmental permits).

How it works:  First, submit a quotation request by completing the Online Quotation Form (link provided on the right side of this table). Once your request has been reviewed, you will receive confirmation regarding seed availability, export eligibility (where applicable), pricing, and any transport charges. Payments are accepted by Revolut, bank transfer (IBAN), or PayPal only; credit and debit card payments are not accepted.

Please note that local orders are currently not being accepted. Seek Maltese nurseries and NGOs for local orders.
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Contribute Information or Report Errors
Use this form to submit additional information about this species or to report any inaccuracies on this webpage. If the information you provide is sourced from a book, journal, website, or any other publication, rather then your own information or experience, then please include the relevant reference or web address whenever possible. Your email address will be used solely for internal communication and will not be shared. We greatly appreciate reports of: taxonomic updates;   species misidentifications;   incorrect or outdated information,   broken links,   technical website issues,   or any additional information specific to the plant in this webpage.

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Section A:  Additional Information about this plant species
Own observations: Info from published material (books, journals, website):
Reference of published material:
 
Section B:   Where have you seen this plant on the Maltese Islands?
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Try to be as concise as possible. Examples: Dingli Cliffs (near chapel), Wied Incita (Zebbug side), Triq il-Kbira (Qormi), Barriera ta' Ghajn Abdul (Xlendi), Fields East of Salib tal-gholja (Siggiewi). GPS co-ordinates are also welcomed!
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