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Ranunculus californicus

Benth.

California Buttercup

G5Secure Found in 15 roadless areas NatureServe Explorer →
G5SecureGlobal Rank
UnknownThreat Impact
Identity
Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.159022
Element CodePDRAN0L0H0
Record TypeSPECIES
ClassificationSpecies
Classification StatusStandard
Name CategoryVascular Plant
Endemicoccurs (regularly, as a native taxon) in multiple nations
KingdomPlantae
PhylumAnthophyta
ClassDicotyledoneae
OrderRanunculales
FamilyRanunculaceae
GenusRanunculus
Other Common Names
California buttercup (EN) Renoncule de Californie (FR)
Concept Reference
Kartesz, J.T. 1994. A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. 2nd edition. 2 vols. Timber Press, Portland, OR.
Taxonomic Comments
Varieties of Ranunculus californicus are recognized by Baldwin et al. (2012) and FNA (vol. 3, 1997) but not by by Kartesz (1994, 1999).
Conservation Status
Rank Method Rank calculation - Biotics v2
Review Date2025-01-24
Change Date1987-04-20
Edition Date2025-01-24
Edition AuthorsEberly (2025)
Threat ImpactUnknown
Range Extent200,000-2,500,000 square km (about 80,000-1,000,000 square miles)
Number of Occurrences> 300
Rank Reasons
Ranunculus californicus is a perennial herb of southwestern Canada, western United States, and northwestern Mexico from British Columbia south to Baja California. With a large range extent, over 300 occurrences, and relatively broad habitat preferences, this species is considered secure. Variety cuneatus is collected with less frequency and has a smaller range extent, but it is hard to know if it is less common, or simply not often identified to the varietal level.
Range Extent Comments
Ranunculus californicus occurs in southwestern Canada, western United States, and northwestern Mexico from British Columbia south to Baja California (FNA 1997, Jepson Flora Project 2025) with variety cuneatus restricted to coastal areas of California and Oregon. Range extent was estimated using herbarium specimens and photo-based observations documented between 1994 and 2025 (GBIF 2025, iNaturalist 2025, SEINet 2025).
Occurrences Comments
By applying a 1 km separation distance to herbarium records and photo-based observations documented between 1994 and 2025, there are estimated to be over 300 occurrences rangewide (GBIF 2025, iNaturalist 2025, SEINet 2025).
Threat Impact Comments
Threats to this species are unknown. Populations from some islands in the vicinity of Victoria (British Columbia and Washington) are small and introgress with Ranunculus occidentalis where ranges overlap (FNA 1997).
Ecology & Habitat

Habitat

Variety cuneatus grows on bluffs and hillsides along the coast at elevations of 0-200 m and variety californicus grows in grasslands and open woodlands at elevations 0-2,000 m (FNA 1997, Jepson Flora Project 2025).
Terrestrial Habitats
Forest/WoodlandWoodland - MixedGrassland/herbaceous
Other Nations (2)
United StatesN5
ProvinceRankNative
WashingtonS1Yes
CaliforniaSNRYes
OregonSNRYes
CanadaN2
ProvinceRankNative
British ColumbiaS2Yes
Threat Assessments
ThreatScopeSeverityTiming
8 - Invasive & other problematic species, genes & diseasesSmall (1-10%)UnknownHigh (continuing)
8.4 - Problematic species/diseases of unknown originSmall (1-10%)UnknownHigh (continuing)
8.4.2 - Named speciesSmall (1-10%)UnknownHigh (continuing)

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Plant Characteristics
DurationPERENNIAL
Economic Value (Genus)No
Roadless Areas (15)
California (15)
AreaForestAcres
Barker ValleyCleveland National Forest11,940
Bear MountainLos Padres National Forest913
Black ButteLos Padres National Forest5,116
Cutca ValleyCleveland National Forest14,530
De La GuerraLos Padres National Forest5,418
Garcia MountainLos Padres National Forest7,850
Horse Creek RidgeSan Bernardino National Forest8,969
La BreaLos Padres National Forest14,031
Machesna MountainLos Padres National Forest12,271
Malduce BuckhornLos Padres National Forest14,177
Rouse HillSan Bernardino National Forest13,745
Santa CruzLos Padres National Forest21,182
Sill HillCleveland National Forest5,294
TequepisLos Padres National Forest9,080
TrabucoCleveland National Forest23,341
References (8)
  1. Baldwin, B. G., D. H. Goldman, D. J. Keil, R. Patterson, T. J. Rosatti, and D. H. Wilken, eds. 2012. The Jepson manual: vascular plants of California. 2nd edition. University of California Press, Berkeley, CA. 1568 pp.
  2. Flora of North America Editorial Committee (FNA). 1997. Flora of North America north of Mexico. Vol. 3. Magnoliophyta: Magnoliidae and Hamamelidae. Oxford Univ. Press, New York. xxiii + 590 pp.
  3. Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF). 2025. Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) data portal. Online. Available: https://www.gbif.org/ (accessed 2025).
  4. iNaturalist. 2025. Online. Available: https://www.inaturalist.org (accessed 2025).
  5. Jepson Flora Project (eds.) 2025. Jepson eFlora. Online. Available: https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/ (accessed 2025).
  6. Kartesz, J.T. 1994. A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. 2nd edition. 2 vols. Timber Press, Portland, OR.
  7. Kartesz, J.T. 1999. A synonymized checklist and atlas with biological attributes for the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. First edition. In: Kartesz, J.T., and C.A. Meacham. Synthesis of the North American Flora, Version 1.0. North Carolina Botanical Garden, Chapel Hill, N.C.
  8. Southwest Environmental Information Network (SEINet). 2025. Collections Databases. Online. Available: https://swbiodiversity.org/seinet/collections/index.php (accessed 2025).