Buttercups are annual or perennial forbs in the Ranunculus genus of the buttercup family. The buttercup family also contains larkspurs. Many buttercups are native to the Yuba-Sutter area.
Perennials
Sacramento Valley Buttercup
Sacramento Valley buttercup is a yellow-flowering buttercup that is native to Yuba and Sutter Counties and typically grows at elevations below 7,500 feet. It is found in central oak woodland, valley grassland, yellow pine forest, and riparian forest. It is equally likely to grow in wetlands or non-wetlands. It cannot be definitively distinguished from Western buttercup except by measuring the fruit, but Sacramento Valley buttercup usually has larger flowers and more than five petals.1 Botanist Amos Arthur Heller collected Sacramento Valley buttercup on a steep, grassy hillside on West Butte Road just west of Braggs Canyon and the Sutter Buttes in 1941.2
You can see pictures of it at CalPhotos, Flickr, and Picasa.
California Buttercup
A California buttercup (Ranunculus californicus) blooming in a Marysville garden. Photo by queerbychoice. California buttercup is a one- to three-foot-tall, yellow-flowering buttercup that is native to Yuba and Sutter Counties and typically grows at elevations below 7,500 feet. It is most often found in sloping meadows in central oak woodland, valley grassland, yellow pine forest, and riparian forest. It is equally likely to grow in wetlands or non-wetlands.
You can read more about it at the Theodore Payne Wiki and the Las Pilitas Nursery website. You can see pictures of it at CalPhotos, Flickr, and Picasa. You can find out where to buy it at the California Native Plant Link Exchange.
Sagebrush Buttercup
Sagebrush buttercup is a six-inch-tall, yellow-flowering buttercup that is native to Yuba County and typically grows at elevations between 3,000 and 11,500 feet. It is most often found in meadows in yellow pine forest and riparian forest. It is equally likely to grow in wetlands or non-wetlands.
You can read more about it at USDA Conservation Plant Characteristics. You can see pictures of it at CalPhotos, Flickr, and Picasa. You can find out where to buy it at the California Native Plant Link Exchange.
Straightbeak Buttercup
Straightbeak buttercup is a yellow-flowering buttercup that is native to Yuba County and typically grows at elevations below 7,500 feet. It is most often found in meadows in riparian forest.
You can see pictures of it at CalPhotos, Flickr, and Picasa.
Western Buttercup
Western buttercup is a yellow-flowering buttercup that is native to Yuba and Sutter Counties and typically grows at elevations below 6,500 feet. It is most often found in meadows in riparian forest. It cannot be definitively distinguished from Sacramento Valley buttercup except by measuring the fruit, but Western buttercup usually has smaller flowers with only five petals. The Nisenan people roasted the seeds and ate them with pinole.3 Botanist Willis Linn Jepson collected Western buttercup on the Sutter Buttes in 1891.4
You can see pictures of it at CalPhotos, Flickr, and Picasa. You can find out where to buy it at the California Native Plant Link Exchange.
Annuals
Delicate Buttercup
Delicate buttercup is a yellow-flowering buttercup that is native to Sutter County and typically grows at elevations below 3,000 feet. It is found in central oak woodland. Botanist Willis Linn Jepson collected delicate buttercup on the Sutter Buttes in 1891.5
You can see pictures of it at CalPhotos, Flickr, and Picasa.
Vernal Pool Buttercup
Vernal pool buttercup is a yellow-flowering buttercup that is native to Sutter County and typically grows at elevations below 3,500 feet. It is found in vernal pools.
You can see pictures of it at CalPhotos, Flickr, and Picasa.
Footnotes
1. Wildflowers of Nevada and Placer Counties by the California Native Plant Society Redbud Chapter. Sacramento: CNPS Press, 2007
2. Consortium of California Herbaria
3. Wildflowers of Nevada and Placer Counties by the California Native Plant Society Redbud Chapter. Sacramento: CNPS Press, 2007
4. Consortium of California Herbaria
5. Consortium of California Herbaria
