Carried by 31 nurseries
View Availability at NurseryData provided by the participants of the Consortium of California Herbaria
View additional distribution information on the Jepson eflora
California Buttercup (Ranunculus californicus) is a perennial herb with glossy, deep yellow flowers featuring 9 to 17 petals. Native to much of California, Baja California, Oregon, and Pacific coastal islands, it blooms in late winter to spring. Two varieties exist: Var. californicus grows 1–2 feet tall, while Var. cuneatus forms a low ground cover.
This buttercup thrives in borders, meadows, and with native annuals or bulbs, needing little summer water. It self-seeds easily and can be propagated from seeds. Occasionally, nursery plants are available. A beautiful, low-maintenance addition, its seeds can even be toasted for culinary use.
Perennial herb
7 - 28 in Tall
6 in Wide
Fountain
Fast
Summer Deciduous
Yellow
Spring, Winter
Full Sun, Partial Shade
Very Low
Never irrigate once established
Easy
Tolerates cold to 10° F
Fast, Medium, Slow
Adaptable.
Soil PH: 5 - 8
Cut plant to the ground as it goes dormant in summer.
Allow seed pods to dry on the plant. In late winder/spring, the seeds will sprout nicely in situ. No special treatment is needed for seeds collected for propagation offsite.
2, 3, 4*, 5*, 6*, 7, 8, 9, 14*, 15*, 16*, 17*, 18*, 19*, 20*, 21*, 22, 23, 24
Many and varied wet and dry places from the coast ranges to foothill grasslands to meadows and woodlands below about 7, 000 ft. Often found in open areas.
Foothill Woodland, Mixed Evergreen Forest, Northern Coastal Scrub, Northern Oak Woodland, Red Fir Forest, Valley Grassland, Yellow Pine Forest, Wetland-Riparian
Dodecatheon clevelandii (shooting star), Sisyrinchium bellum (blue-eyed grass), Trichostema lancolatum (wooly blue-curls)
Butterflies and moths supported
0 confirmed and 3 likely
White Triangle Tortrix
Clepsis persicana
Hitched Arches
Melanchra adjuncta
Purple-Lined Sallow
Pyrrhia exprimens