Ranunculus lobbii

Lobb's aquatic buttercup, Lobb's Aquatic Buttercup

Family: Ranunculaceae · Type: annual · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 4.2

Lobb's aquatic buttercup is a native annual found in northern coastal California and San Francisco Bay bioregions in pond habitats at elevations below 500 meters. Flowering from March to May, this plant produces white flowers with yellow claws, typically 4 to 6 millimeters long. Growing up to 80 centimeters tall, it can float on water or creep along muddy surfaces, rooting at stem nodes. Its distinctive leaves include floating leaves that are kidney-shaped and deeply divided into three elliptic or obovate segments, while submerged leaves are intricately dissected. The fruit consists of 2 to 6 lenticular bodies with thick, transversely wrinkled walls.

Habitat: Ponds

Bloom period: Mar-May

Elevation: < 500 m

Bioregions: NCoR, SnFrB

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