Alkali Buttercup
ENEndangered

Alkali Buttercup

Halerpestes cymbalaria

Halerpestes cymbalaria is a species of buttercup known by the common names alkali buttercup and seaside buttercup. It is native to much of Eurasia and parts of North and South America, where it grows in many types of habitat, especially in moist to wet areas such as marshes, bogs, and moist spring meadows.

Photo: Wikimedia Commons (CC) via https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halerpestes_cymbalaria

01Classification

Taxonomy & Classification

Kingdom

Plantae

Phylum

Tracheophyta

Class

Magnoliopsida

Order

Ranunculales

Family

Ranunculaceae

Genus

Halerpestes

Alkali Buttercup belongs to the family Ranunculaceae, order Ranunculales, within the Magnoliopsida class.

02Description

Species Profile

Halerpestes cymbalaria is a species of buttercup known by the common names alkali buttercup and seaside buttercup. It is native to much of Eurasia and parts of North and South America, where it grows in many types of habitat, especially in moist to wet areas such as marshes, bogs, and moist spring meadows. It is a perennial herb producing several stems a few centimeters to nearly 40 centimeters long. Some are prostrate against the ground and are stolons which root in moist substrate, and some are erect. The leaves are variable in shape, the basal ones with notched or slightly divided leaf blades borne on long petioles, and any upper leaves much reduced in size. The inflorescence bears one or more flowers on erect stalks. The flower has five to eight pale yellow petals, each under a...

The Alkali Buttercup faces severe population declines primarily due to habitat loss and degradation of its specialized alkaline wetland environments. Human activities including agricultural conversion, water diversion, and urban development have significantly reduced the availability of suitable saline and alkaline habitats this species requires.

Key Facts

IUCN StatusEndangered (EN)
GroupPlants
03Habitat

Habitat & Distribution

FRESHWATERMajorTERRESTRIALMajorTERRESTRIALMajor
04Threats

Threats

!

IUCN Red List: Endangered

The Alkali Buttercup faces severe population declines primarily due to habitat loss and degradation of its specialized alkaline wetland environments. Human activities including agricultural conversion, water diversion, and urban development have significantly reduced the availability of suitable saline and alkaline habitats this species requires.

Habitat loss and fragmentation from agricultural conversion

HighOngoing

Water diversion and altered hydrology of wetland systems

HighOngoing

Climate change affecting water availability

MediumOngoing

Invasive plant species competition

MediumOngoing

Urban and industrial development

MediumOngoing
Community

Community Sightings

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07Sources

Sources & Attribution

How to Cite

IUCN: IUCN (2025). The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2025-1. Available at: https://www.iucnredlist.org. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2025-1.RLTS

GBIF: GBIF.org (2025). GBIF Home Page. Available at: https://www.gbif.org

This page: SpeciesRadar (2025). Alkali Buttercup (Halerpestes cymbalaria). SpeciesRadar: Intelligence for Earth's Biodiversity. Available at: https://speciesradar.org/species/alkali-buttercup

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