Spring’s first flowers – Sagebrush Buttercups on the Hill Farm hillside, April 16, 2014. Image: HFN
Perennial. Zone 2. Ranunculaceae. Western North America. Interior and subalpine regions of B.C. and Alberta and into Saskatchewan; in the U.S.A. south to New Mexico, and east to North and South Dakota and Nebraska.
As the snow recedes from our river-valley hillsides each spring we eagerly kneel on the snowmelt-soggy ground to check on the state of the sagebrush buttercups. First of the spring flowers by far, blooming as soon as late March, their opening signals the very beginning of the progression of other springtime markers – the first returning Canada geese; the first robins and bluebirds; the appearance of the pollen-dusted catkins of the poplar tress and then the cottonwoods; the first evocative smell of “green” after a spring rainfall; the first day the horses leave their hay piles untouched and instead nuzzle through last autumn’s rustling fallen foliage for those first elusive but oh-so-welcome blades of grass…
We’ve made it through another cold time, for look, here are the buttercups again!
This is a tiny creature, but its cheerful blossoms shine like the sun, and a flourishing colony in full bloom is an amazing sight in late April and early May.
The specific name glaberrimus means “smoothest”, and refers to the foliage: freshly green, gently lobed, and slightly succulent. Purple-flushed flower buds appear on short stems which lengthen as the flowers open to a height of perhaps six inches at the utmost; most are only three or four inches tall. Five-petalled buttercups are typical of their race, being reflectively shiny as to petal surface, with a ring of thick yellow anthers surrounding the protruding cluster of pistils – potential achenes which will mature into ripe seeds in May and June.
Clusters of shallowly anchored, thickened, semi-tuberous roots provide the stored energy for R. glaberrimus‘s early spring flourishing; plants remain green through the entire growing season, and an investigation in autumn reveals the next spring’s buds already formed in the leaf axils at the base of the foliage; ready for emergence after a winter dormancy under the snow.
Enjoy this buttercup on your spring rambles; it is locally abundant throughout the Cariboo-Chilcotin, especially along roadsides through the Fraser River valley’s Douglas fir belt, and in the grasslands around Williams Lake.
Though I have never been tempted to bring this pretty wildflower into my own garden – it is happily abundant on the grassy hillsides of our farm and makes an ideal excuse for many springtime excursions to check on the progression of the colonies’ blooming – I have seen it established in a number of alpine gardens where it thrives generously, for it appears to be a healthy and adaptable plant.
Full sun suits Ranunculus glaberrimus best if its natural habitat is any indication, and it is very drought tolerant once established, though it appreciates springtime moisture.
Though technically Ranunculus glaberrimus has five petals, some populations show a tendency to producing extras, doubling or even tripling the modest prototype. Image: HFN
Image: HFN
