Ranunculus occidentalis

Ranunculus occidentalis, the western buttercup,[1] is a species of buttercup found in the western regions of North America. Its distribution extends from Alaska through British Columbia and Alberta to central California.[1] The flower can be seen in open meadows, forests, and other generally flat areas up to an elevation of 2,200 metres (7,200 ft).[2]

Ranunculus occidentalis
R. occidentalis in Anacortes, Washington
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Ranunculales
Family: Ranunculaceae
Genus: Ranunculus
Species:
R. occidentalis
Binomial name
Ranunculus occidentalis

Aleut Indians may have used juice from the plant as a poison,[3] its toxicity arising from the substance protoanemonin.[4] Shasta Indians coincided blooming Ranunculus occidentalis with salmon runs in the summer.[5] The seeds were used to make pinole, a staple food.[6]

This plant is similar to, and sometimes difficult to distinguish from, the California buttercup (Ranunculus californicus).

References
  1. "Ranunculus occidentalis". Natural Resources Conservation Service PLANTS Database. USDA. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  2. "Jepson Manual Treatment for Ranunculus occidentalis". University of California Berkeley Jepson Treaments. Retrieved 2009-06-05. External link in |publisher= (help)
  3. Flora of North America
  4. Bank, Theodore (1953). "Botanical and ethnobotanical studies in the Aleutian Islands - Health and Medical Lore …". Michigan Academy of Science, Arts and Letters: 428. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  5. Holt, Catharine (1946). "Shasta Ethnography". University of California, Berkeley: 310. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  6. Ethnobotany
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