javiehweg's Journal

The side view on the flower is important because you need to see the sepals to ID. The sepals are still too hard to see here. Here are some websites with good descriptions for telling some of our buttercups apart:
http://www.acerecology.co.uk/buttercups/
https://lizzieharper.co.uk/2016/02/botanical-illustration-buttercup-species/

Hooked vs. R. abortivus from srall
So, I learned R. abortivus as "kidney leaved buttercup" and I think it's much more helpful, as R. abortivus only has kidney shaped basal leaves plus some usually undivided but at least very narrow stem leaves. These big, broad, three-parted leaves are never seen on R. abortivus. There are other Ranunculus that have this shape leaf, but R. recurvatus is the common one.

Catchweed has much narrower leaves, much more obovate (wide near the tip) than rough. Also rough almost never has more than 6 leaves in a whorl, catchweed usually does. In person catchweed is "grabbier" than rough, but that's subtle even if you have them side by side.

https://herbarium.rutgers.edu/documents/Field-Guide-to-the-Moss-Genera-in-New-Jersey.pdf

http://www.choosingvoluntarysimplicity.com/is-it-common-fleabane-eastern-daisy-fleabane-or-robins-plantain-fleabane/

https://wildeherb.com/2010/06/02/fleabane-first-aster-type-flower-blooms/

https://www.illinoiswildflowers.info/prairie/plantx/ph_fleabanex.htm