Ranunculus macounii

Macoun's buttercup

Family: Ranunculaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 2B.2

Macoun's buttercup is a rare (CNPS 2B.2) California native perennial found in the Modoc Plateau in wet meadows and shallow water at elevations of 1,200 to 1,500 meters. Flowering from June to July, this plant produces white to yellow flowers approximately 4 to 6 millimeters wide with distinctive spreading sepals. Growing 20 to 65 centimeters tall with erect stems that can root at the lowest nodes, it has a distinctive growth habit of being partially decumbent. Its basal and lower leaves are large and complex, featuring compound ternate leaflets that are 3-lobed with elliptic segments that have acute or toothed tips. The fruit is a small disk-like body with a straight lanceolate beak, characteristic of buttercup species.

Habitat: Wet meadows, shallow water

Bloom period: Jun-Jul

Elevation: 1200-1500 m

Bioregions: MP

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