Sagebrush buttercups (Ranunculus glaberrimus) are early-blooming perennial herbs found in many habitats in our area.      Sagebrush buttercups grow from thick, fleshy woody bases and emerge with low-growing,  fleshy, lobed basal leaves with several short stems.    All buttercups have shiny, reflective yellow flowers with 5 petals and sepals, although we have spotted many sagebrush buttercups with multiple petals and even two rings of petals.

By early-mid March, before all other wildflowers, sagebrush buttercups first appear at lower elevations in grasslands, sagebrush areas, and open forests, then emerge later in higher open spots and in glades at middle elevations.
All photos by the author.

 

 

After flowering, small seed clusters (achenes) form and the leaves start to wither.   Grasses and weeds grow up and hide the low-growing buttercups.   By summer, most traces of the buttercups are gone.

Sagebrush buttercups are toxic to range animals and humans too.   Buttercups can be an invasive species in wet areas and in home gardens in warmer, wetter zones, but it is a welcome sight in the grasslands and open forests of the Interior at the end of winter and in the first few weeks of spring.