Sagebrush buttercup Ranunculus glaberrimus
Ranunculaceae –Buttercup Family
Family ID traits:
- All floral parts all independently attached & all of an indefinite number (Primitive, ancestral)
- Multiple pistils at center of flower w/ hooked tips
- Other family with many pistils is Rose, but Rose lacks hooked tips
Habitat: Shrub-steppe & conifer forest & rocky ridges, mid- to high elevation. One of earliest spring bloomers
Growth form: Perennial forb. Growing either erect on lying on the ground, usually in small clumps.
Leaves: Mainly basal; stem leaves often 3-lobed
Stem: single, may be branched at the top
Flowers: shiny yellow. 5 separate petals, 1/2-inch long. Radially symmetry, regular flower. A large number of stamens (more that you can count)
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- (Photo provided) Sagebrush buttercups have popped up on the Jacobson Preserve.
