Data provided by the participants of the Consortium of California Herbaria

View additional distribution information on the Jepson eflora

The western buttercup (ranunculus occidentalis) is a species of buttercup found in the western United States and Canada. The flower can be seen in open meadows, forests, and other generally flat areas up to an elevation of 2,200 meters (7,200 feet). Aleut Indians may have used protoanemonin, a substance produced when the plant is handled or damaged as a poison, while Shasta Indians coincided blooming R. occidentalis with salmon runs in the summer.

Plant type

Perennial herb

Size

4 - 24 in Tall

Calscape icon
Color

Yellow

Flowering season

Winter, Spring

Special uses

Lawn alternative

Sun

Full Sun, Partial Shade, Deep Shade

Water

Moderate

Ease of care

Moderate

Sunset Zones

2, 3, 4*, 5*, 6*, 7, 8, 9, 14*, 15, 16, 17*, 18*, 19*, 20*, 21*, 22, 23, 24

Site type

Meadows, flats, and open places

Plant communities

Coastal Prairie, Foothill Woodland, Lodgepole Forest, Red Fir Forest, Yellow Pine Forest, Wetland-Riparian

Caterpillars
Butterflies

Butterflies and moths supported

0 confirmed and 3 likely

Confirmed Likely

White Triangle Tortrix

Clepsis persicana

Hitched Arches

Melanchra adjuncta

Purple-Lined Sallow

Pyrrhia exprimens