Ranunculus glaberrimus, the sagebrush buttercup, is a species of flowering plant in the buttercup family, Ranunculaceae. It is native to interior western North America, in western Canada, the western United States, and the northwestern Great Plains.
Distribution Ranunculus glaberrimus is found from central British Columbia east to southern Saskatchewan, south through the Dakotas to Kansas, through the Rocky Mountains southeast to northern New Mexico, west to the Great Basin region, and southwest to northeastern California.
It occurs in habitat types with junipers (Juniperus occidentalis), sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata) and bitterbrush (Purshia tridentata), in damp ground.Plants of British Columbia: Ranunculus glaberrimus
Description Ranunculus glaberrimus is a herbaceous perennial plant growing to tall. The roots are clustered and fleshy. The somewhat thick basal leaves are oval, with long petioles, ranging from entire to having three deep lobes. Cauline leaves have short petioles but are otherwise similar. The flowers have four to ten yellow petals (usually five) about 1 cm long. The sepals are yellow-purple, and the stamens and pistils are numerous.Ranunculus glaberrimus. Flora of North America. It flowers relatively early, typically in March and April, though occasionally blooming in February.
The species is reportedly toxic to livestock and possibly to humans as well.
The Fraser River Stl'atl'imx use the annual bloom of sagebrush buttercup as an indicator of the beginning of the chinook salmon run up the Fraser River above Lillooet. This period of time is called "spring salmon eye" because the flowers are the same color as the salmons' eyes.
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See also Sagebrush steppe Great Basin shrub steppe
References
External links
Ranunculus glaberrimus var. ellipticus. Burke Museum, University of Washington. Ranunculus glaberrimus. The Jepson eFlora 2013. Ranunculus glaberrimus. CalPhotos.