Data provided by the participants of the Consortium of California Herbaria

View additional distribution information on the Jepson eflora

Ranunculus eschscholtzii is a species of buttercup known by the common name Eschscholtz's buttercup. It is native to much of western North America from Arctic northwestern Canada and Alaska to California to New Mexico, where it grows in meadows and talus on high mountain slopes and other open rocky habitat. It is a perennial herb producing one or more erect stems up to 20 or 25 centimeters tall. The lower leaves have somewhat rounded blades each divided into a few lobes and borne on long petioles. Any upper leaves are smaller and not borne on petioles. The herbage is hairless and sometimes waxy in texture. The inflorescence is made up of one to three flowers on narrow pedicels. The flower has five to eight oval or rounded shiny yellow petals up to 1. 5 centimeters long each around a central nectary with many stamens and pistils. The fruit is an achene borne in a cluster of 17 or more. Media related to Ranunculus eschscholtzii at Wikimedia Commons

Plant type

Perennial herb

Size

8 - 12 in Tall

Form

Upright

Growth rate

Moderate

Calscape icon
Color

Yellow

Flowering season

Summer

Water

Moderate

Soil description

Prefers sandy or loamy soils. Does not grow well in clay soils.

Plant communities

Alpine Fell-Fields, Subalpine Forest, Wetland-Riparian

Caterpillars
Butterflies

Butterflies and moths supported

0 confirmed and 2 likely

Confirmed Likely

White Triangle Tortrix

Clepsis persicana

Purple-Lined Sallow

Pyrrhia exprimens