About Ranunculus glaberrimus Hook.
Ranunculus glaberrimus Hook. is a herbaceous perennial plant that grows 4 to 15 centimeters (1 1/2 to 6 inches) tall. It has clustered, fleshy roots. Its somewhat thick basal leaves are oval with long petioles, and may range from smooth-edged to deeply three-lobed. Cauline leaves are similar in appearance to basal leaves, but have short petioles. Its flowers have four to ten yellow petals, most commonly five, each about 1 cm long. The sepals are yellow-purple, and the flowers have numerous stamens and pistils. It blooms relatively early in the year, typically in March and April, and may occasionally bloom as early as February. This species is reportedly toxic to livestock, and may also be toxic to humans. Ranunculus glaberrimus is distributed from central British Columbia east to southern Saskatchewan, south through the Dakotas to Kansas, through the Rocky Mountains southeast to northern New Mexico, west to the Great Basin region, and southwest to northeastern California. It grows in damp ground within habitat types that contain western juniper (Juniperus occidentalis), big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata), and antelope bitterbrush (Purshia tridentata).
