Ranunculus occidentalis var. ultramontanus

Western buttercup

Family: Ranunculaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Western buttercup is a California native perennial found in the Klamath Ranges, high Cascade Range, and Sierra Nevada Mountains in mountain meadows at elevations of 1,300 to 2,500 meters. Flowering from May to July, this plant produces yellow flowers with petals 6 to 8 millimeters long and 1.5 to 2.5 millimeters wide. Growing with decumbent stems, it develops distinctive basal leaves that are divided into three parts with oblong to elliptic segments that may be lobed or toothed. Its leaves feature ultimate segments that can be lanceolate or oblanceolate, creating an intricate leaf structure. The fruit has a small curved beak 0.4 to 1.2 millimeters long, with a glabrous body 3 to 3.4 millimeters wide.

Habitat: Meadows

Bloom period: May-Jul

Elevation: 1300-2500 m

Bioregions: KR, CaRH, SNH

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