Ranunculus occidentalis var. dissectus

Western buttercup

Family: Ranunculaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Conservation status: CNPS PPD

Western buttercup is a California native perennial found in the Klamath Ranges, Cascade Range, and North Coast Ranges in wet or dry meadows at elevations of 1,000 to 1,800 meters. Flowering from May to July, this plant produces yellow flowers with delicate petals 6 to 10 millimeters long. Growing with erect to spreading stems, it forms clusters of distinctive foliage with basal leaves divided into three intricate segments. Its leaves feature lanceolate to oblanceolate leaflets that are either entirely smooth or have sparse, subtle teeth along the edges. The fruit develops as a small, glabrous body with a straight, awl-shaped beak approximately 1.2 to 2.2 millimeters long.

Habitat: Wet or dry meadows

Bloom period: May-Jul

Elevation: 1000-1800 m

Bioregions: KR, CaRH, MP

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