Ranunculus flammula var. ovalis

Greater creeping spearwort

Family: Ranunculaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Greater creeping spearwort is a California native perennial found in northwestern California, the Cascade Range, Sierra Nevada, central coastal California, San Bernardino Mountains, and Modoc Plateau in muddy ground and shallow water at elevations below 2,300 meters. Flowering from May to September, this plant produces small white to yellow flowers 3 to 5 millimeters long with delicate, rounded petals. Growing with prostrate or occasionally ascending stems 0.5 to 2 millimeters in diameter, it spreads across wet ground with a low, creeping habit. Its lance-elliptic to lanceolate leaves are narrow, measuring 0.8 to 3.3 centimeters long and 0.2 to 0.8 centimeters wide, creating a delicate ground-hugging appearance. The small flowers are accompanied by sepals 2 to 3 millimeters long, giving the plant a subtle but distinctive presence in wet, marshy environments.

Habitat: Muddy ground, shallow water

Bloom period: May-Sep

Elevation: < 2300 m

Bioregions: NW, CaR, SN, CCo, SnBr, MP

California counties: Mendocino, Del Norte, Humboldt, Fresno, Lake, Siskiyou, Tuolumne, Modoc, Butte, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, Amador, Alpine, Sierra, El Dorado, Marin, San Bernardino, Mariposa, Trinity, Tehama, Lassen, Sonoma, Shasta

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