Ranunculus repens
Creeping buttercup
(c) Thraen, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), uploaded by Thraen · licence
Family: Ranunculaceae · Type: Herb · Not Native
Conservation status: Cal-IPC Yes
Ranunculus repens (Creeping buttercup) is a non-native California herb in the Ranunculaceae family, recognized by creeping habit and rooting at nodes.
Creeping buttercup is a naturalized perennial herb found in northern California coastal regions, high Cascade Range, northern and central Sierra Nevada, central Coast, and San Francisco Bay Area in meadows, road banks, and stream edges at elevations below 1,600 meters. Flowering all year, this plant produces white to yellow flowers with 5 to 150 petals 6 to 18 millimeters long. Growing with decumbent or creeping stems 10 to 60 centimeters tall that root at the nodes, it spreads across disturbed ground. Its distinctive leaves are broadly ovate to kidney-shaped, divided into three-part leaflets with lobed segments, each ultimate leaflet having an obovate or elliptic shape with toothed edges. The fruit develops as a small disk-like body with a curved, lanceolate beak.
Identification and appearance
Key characters: 49 sympatric species; key features are creeping habit and rooting at nodes
Habitat and range
Habitat: Meadows, road banks, disturbed places, edges of marshes, streams
Elevation: < 1600 m
California counties: Humboldt, Mendocino, Monterey, Lake, Marin, Modoc, Sonoma, Siskiyou, Santa Cruz, Plumas, Del Norte, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Los Angeles, Alameda, Butte, Fresno, Contra Costa, Alpine
Outside California: worldwide, native to Eurasia
Bloom period
Ranunculus repens blooms All year.
Conservation status
Cal-IPC Yes
How to tell it apart
vs Lasthenia: Ranunculus has separate petals around a central disk; Lasthenia has many tiny ray flowers around a disk (composite head).; vs Bowlesia: Ranunculus has glossy yellow petals in conspicuous flowers; Bowlesia has tiny white flowers in umbels with divided leaves.; vs Potentilla: Ranunculus has nectaries at petal bases and many pistils; Potentilla has no nectaries and styles attached to ovary sides.; vs Papaver: Ranunculus has 5 petals and many pistils; Papaver has 4 crinkled petals and a single large stigma disk.; vs Oxalis: Ranunculus has glossy separate petals; Oxalis has clover-like leaves and tubular flowers that close at night.
Frequently asked questions
Is Ranunculus repens native to California?
No. Ranunculus repens is not native to California (recorded as not native).
When does Ranunculus repens bloom?
Ranunculus repens blooms All year.
Where in California does Ranunculus repens grow?
Ranunculus repens occurs in Humboldt, Mendocino, Monterey, Lake, Marin, Modoc, Sonoma, Siskiyou and other counties, at elevations of < 1600 m.
What plant family does Ranunculus repens belong to?
Ranunculus repens is in the Ranunculaceae family, genus Ranunculus.
Is Ranunculus repens invasive in California?
Ranunculus repens is listed by Cal-IPC with an invasiveness rating of Yes.
Related species
Other California species in the same genus, family, or bioregion.
Sources: Jepson eFlora · Index of California Plant Names · CalPhotos
Last updated 2026-10-07
Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Cal-IPC, and more.