Yellow wildflowers of west and southwest USA: Ranunculus glaberrimus: sagebrush buttercup: Buttercup family (Ranunculaceae). Narrowly elliptic or broadly ovate leaves, lobed or unlobed; shorts stems and yellow flowers with between 5 and 10 yellow petals. Ranunculaceae – Buttercup family Genus: Ranunculus L. – buttercup Species: Ranunculus glaberrimus Hook. – sagebrush buttercup Variety: Ranunculus glaberrimus Hook. Glaberrimus – sagebrush buttercup. The sagebrush buttercup is a member of the ranunculus family, like other buttercups. Ranunculus is derived from the Latin word for frog and refers to these plants' love of wet habitats. The sagebrush buttercup is native to the northwestern United States, including the northwestern Great Plains, and western Canada.
What's in a Name?
- Ranunculus glaberrimus Hook. – sagebrush buttercup. Subordinate Taxa. The Plants Database includes the following 2 subspecies of Ranunculus glaberrimus. Click below on a thumbnail map or name for subspecies profiles. Native Introduced Native and Introduced. Ranunculus glaberrimus var.
- Sagebrush Buttercup 'In our area this is the very first flower to open' (Lackschewitz 1991). This wildflower can bloom as early as late January, though typically March is when most are in flower. Dry uplands are the habitat to search where snow has melted off and exposed the ground.
Sagebrush Buttercup Seeds
The genus Ranunculus comes from the Latin word for frog (rana) because many species grow in wet places. This species, however, is most often found in sagebrush steppe and on open pine forest floors Glaberrimus means totally glabrous, or without hairs.
One of the earliest wildflowers; look for Sagebrush Buttercupblooming now through June in Missoula! Plants are fleshy and 5-20 cm high (smaller than the similar native Mountain Buttercup, Ranunculus eschscholtzii). Leaves are very smooth, round to three-toothed, clustered mostly at the base. The shiny yellow flowers are about the size of a quarter. It's sometimes confused with Silvery Cinquefoil (Potentilla argentea), but they're easily told apart. P. argentea has 5 pointy bracts alternating with its yellow petals and toothy, palmate leaves.
![Sage Sage](/uploads/1/1/8/7/118796113/973010129.jpg)
Range:
From BC to New Mexico and California east to the Dakotas. Found in most parts of Montana (map)
Big Basin Sage
![Sagebrush Buttercup Sagebrush Buttercup](https://yakimarivercanyon.com/flowers/slides/Sagebrush buttercup.jpg)
Ranunculus is toxic to eat (including to horses and livestock), and can cause mild burning or blistering skin if handled. The Okanagan-Colville Indians of the Pacific Northwest used sagebrush buttercups placed on a piece of meat as poisoned bait for coyotes, and rubbed flowers or whole plants on arrow points as a poison. The toxin is unstable, and destroyed by boiling or drying.
Children all over the world play the 'Do you like butter?' game, checking if the golden yellow flowers reflect off their pals' chins. This sketch is from the Royal Academy Notes for 1889. Some things never change.
Children all over the world play the 'Do you like butter?' game, checking if the golden yellow flowers reflect off their pals' chins. This sketch is from the Royal Academy Notes for 1889. Some things never change.
A cold-hardy perennial that brings early spring color; Sagebrush Buttercups need a sunny, well-watered spot. Sources for seeds and plants may be hard to find, but worth trying. The bright yellow petals secrete nectar, attracting an array of native bees and other pollinators. They're also one of the first true heralds of spring, braving the still-icy winds as a promise of warm days to come.
This blog entry was originally created for the Montana Natural History Center. Check out the original post here