Ranunculus acris

Acrid buttercup

Family: Ranunculaceae · Type: perennial · Not Native

Acrid buttercup is a naturalized perennial herb found in northern Coast Ranges and northern Sierra Nevada at elevations below 1,500 meters in disturbed areas. Flowering in July, this plant produces bright yellow flowers about 8 to 11 millimeters wide with five distinctive petals. Growing 15 to 45 centimeters tall with erect, generally hairy stems that are few-branched above the base, it has a distinctive growth habit. Its basal leaves are deeply divided into 3 to 5 parts, with ultimate leaf segments that are narrowly elliptic to oblong, featuring acute or rounded tips and toothed edges. The fruits are small disk-like bodies about 2 to 3 millimeters wide, topped with a short, awl-shaped beak.

Habitat: Disturbed areas

Bloom period: Jul

Elevation: < 1500 m

Bioregions: NCo, n SNH

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.