Ranunculus californicus var. cuneatus

Common buttercup

Family: Ranunculaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Common buttercup is a California native perennial found in northern Coast, central Coast, and northern Channel Islands bioregions along coastal bluffs and hillsides at elevations below 200 meters. Flowering from January to April, this plant produces yellow flowers with rounded petals and delicate appearance. Growing with prostrate stems that are strigose (covered in short, stiff hairs), it spreads low across the ground. Its leaves are 4 to 5 centimeters long with segments that are either undivided or slightly lobed, featuring elliptic to round ultimate segments with toothed or crenate edges. The fruit is small, with a body approximately 2 millimeters long and slightly narrower than its length.

Habitat: Coastal bluffs, hillsides

Bloom period: Jan-Apr

Elevation: < 200 m

Bioregions: NCo, CCo, n ChI

California counties: Sonoma, San Mateo, San Luis Obispo, San Francisco, Mendocino, Monterey, Marin, Santa Barbara, Del Norte, Humboldt, Santa Cruz

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