Ranunculaceae ( , buttercup or crowfoot family; Latin "little frog", from "frog") is a large family of flowering plants, distributed worldwide.
, World Flora Online accepted 53 genera and over 3,700 species. The largest genera are Ranunculus with more than 1,600 species, Delphinium with more than 500, and Clematis with almost 400.
Description
thumb|125px|[[Floral diagram. Adonis annua]]
Ranunculaceae are mostly herbaceous annuals or perennials, but some are woody climbers (such as Clematis) or shrubs (e.g. Xanthorhiza).
Most members of the family have bisexual flowers which can be showy or inconspicuous. Flowers are solitary, but are also found aggregated in cymes, panicles, or spikes. The flowers are usually radially symmetrical but are also found to be bilaterally symmetrical in the genera Aconitum and Delphinium. The sepals, petals, stamens and carpels are all generally free (not fused), the outer flower segments typically number four or five. The outer stamens