Ranunculus parviflorus

Few flowered buttercup

Family: Ranunculaceae · Type: annual · Not Native

Few flowered buttercup is a naturalized annual found in northwestern California and San Francisco Bay Area bioregions in roadsides and fields at elevations below 800 meters. Flowering from April to June, this plant produces small white or yellow flowers with 0 to 5 petals measuring just 1 to 2 millimeters wide. Growing 8 to 40 centimeters tall with an erect, non-bulbous habit, it develops basal roots and branching stems. Its basal and lower stem leaves are distinctive, measuring 1.5 to 3.2 centimeters long, semicircular or kidney-shaped, deeply divided into three parts and further lobed with a heart-shaped base. The fruit is a small disk-like body with fine papillae tipped with hooked bristles, each about 1.7 to 2 millimeters across.

Habitat: Roadsides, fields

Bloom period: Apr-Jun

Elevation: < 800 m

Bioregions: NW, SnFrB

California counties: Humboldt, Solano, Santa Cruz, Siskiyou, Mendocino, Sonoma

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