Ranunculus sardous
Hairy buttercup
Family: Ranunculaceae · Type: annual · Not Native
Hairy buttercup is a naturalized annual found in northern California Coast, northern Sierra Nevada foothills, and Sacramento Valley in wetlands and ponds at elevations below 300 meters. Flowering from May to July, this plant produces yellow flowers with 5 broad petals 7 to 10 millimeters long. Growing to 18 to 50 centimeters tall with an erect habit, it develops basal roots and multiple stems. Its leaves are distinctively divided into 2 to 6 centimeters wide ovate to heart-shaped segments with crenate-dentate edges, featuring 1 to 2 ternate leaflet arrangements. The fruit develops as a disk-like body with coarsely textured surface, each papilla tipped with a hooked bristle and a small curved beak.
Habitat: Ponds, wetlands
Bloom period: May-Jul
Elevation: < 300 m
Bioregions: NCo, CaRF, n&c SNF, ScV
Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.