California Buttercup
Ranunculaceae californicus Benth.
Buttercup Family
Buttercups are native of California and are usually one of the first wildflowers to appear in early February. These bright yellow flowers are roughly 1/2" in diameter and have 7 to 22 shiny, teardrop-shaped petals. Each flower grows on it’s own tall woody stem that extend the bloom above the grass line to reach the sun. The 3-lobed leaves are at the base of the stems and are often hidden by the tall surrounding grass. This cheery perennial disappears early in the summer, only to reappear the following winter. Many California indian tribes would gather, dry and eat the seeds of California Buttercup and use the leaves for tea.
California Buttercups are found outside of California as well but are limited to western North America, Baja Mexico and the Vancover BC area of Canada.
Habitat: Damp grassland, mixed evergreen forests and lightly shaded oak woods; low to moderate elevations.
Blooms: February to May in Sonoma, Marin, Napa and Mendocino Counties
Bloom Size: 1/2 - 3/4 inch diameter
Height: 4 - 24 inches
Photo Location: Taylor Mountian Regional Park, Sonoma County, California
Photos Taken: 3.28.2013 by Leigh Nouveaux
Reference: Wildflowers of Northern California’s Wine Country & North Coast Ranges, by Reny Parker
For me, spring in Sonoma County brings an extra incentive to go out caching. During this magical season the hunt isn’t just about the hidden caches but the treasures I’ll find just out in the open all along the trail—the Bloomin’ Beauties!! The diversity and abundance of the wildflowers in this glorious county never ceases to amaze me!
Even now, after years of hiking the regional parks, coast-lands and open space preserves in this area I’m amazed that I still come upon flowers that I’ve never seen before. Finding a new Bloomin’ Beauty reawakens the child like wonder in me and I want to know "What is it, what’s it called?"
I recently realized that I didn’t know, or couldn’t remember the names of even some of the more familiar flowers I was accustom to seeing. I’d take pictures of them on the trail and have to come back home to identify them. That realization was the inspiration for creating this Bloomin’ Beauties Series. I figured that if I took the time to learn more about these wildflowers I could share what I learned and hopefully inspire you to take a moment to admire and appreciate these fleeting, colorful gems too.
All the flowers in this series are found here in Sonoma County. The unique biodiversity of this area creates many different habitats and growing conditions so I’ve tried to list where and when I’ve taken each of the photos. I’ve also listed the months each typically blooms and other counties in which it can be found. In the spring, the wildflower featured above can be seen along the trail on the way to this cache. If you see it and have a camera with you please take a picture and post it online when you log the cache.
The cache is located in one of Sonoma County’s newest Regional parks, Taylor Mountain Regional Park, which has spectacular sweeping views of Santa Rosa and Sebastapol to the west, Windsor’s Shiloh Ranch Reginal Park to the north, and to the east Annadel State Park, Mount Hood Regional Park and Mount St. Helena.
We hope you enjoy discovering and learning about the wildflowers of Sonoma County!