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Yellow Water-buttercup

Ranunculus flabellaris

In the Carolinas and Georgia, found in pools in floodplains of small stream swamps, ponds, borrow pits, other stagnant or slowly moving waters. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition What its natural habitat tells you

51
Strong

Native to Arkansas. How scores work Is it native here?

Profile 82%

Light
Partial shade, Full shade, Full sun
Soil moisture
Moist to standing water
Will it fit your yard?

At a glance

Life cycle
Perennial
Bloom
March to July

Not yet recorded · Height · Spread · Leaves

Height: NC species account not read yet.

Spread and leaves: no source found yet.

This plant is missing most of its facts, so Quercus is looking them up in old botany books.

Recorded in 6 Arkansas counties.

Natural habitats

Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

1 of 3

Floodplain and bottomland forests

Forests on low ground beside rivers and streams that flood from time to time.

Swamps

Forested wetlands with standing water much of the year, such as cypress and gum swamps.

Ponds, lakes and their shores

Still water and its edges: ponds, lakes, millponds and reservoirs.

All habitats

Also found with this plant

Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Arkansas. Shared habitat, not food. 125 animals.

All wildlife of Arkansas

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

4CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including AR

Genus host records with ranges including AR · Ranunculus

  • Herpetogramma pertextalisBold-Feathered Grass Moth
  • Papaipema nebrisStalk Borer
  • Pyrrhia exprimensPurple-Lined Sallow, Purple-Lined Sun Moth
  • Sparganothis sulfureanaSparganothis Fruitworm Moth, Sulfur Leafroller, False Yellow-Head
Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
20BeesSoutheastern regional records

Southeastern regional records · Ranunculus

Individual names are not available yet.

Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
0Specialist beesPollen specialists
13BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim

Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Ranunculus

  • Anthus rubescensAmerican Pipit
  • Bonasa umbellusRuffed Grouse
  • Calcarius lapponicusLapland Longspur
  • Callipepla californicaCalifornia Quail
  • Centrocercus urophasianusGreater Sage-Grouse
  • Cygnus buccinatorTrumpeter Swan
  • Dendrocygna bicolorFulvous Whistling-Duck
  • Fulica americanaAmerican Coot
  • Lagopus leucuraWhite-tailed Ptarmigan
  • Lagopus mutaRock Ptarmigan
Show all 13
  • Mareca americanaAmerican Wigeon
  • Meleagris gallopavoWild Turkey
  • Plectrophenax nivalisSnow Bunting
Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)

Direct food only: birds recorded eating this genus across North America. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening

No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family
Ranunculaceae
Flower color
Yellow

Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.

Growing sources and scope
Also known as

Yellow Water Buttercup; Yellow Water Crowfoot

Conservation status

Arkansas rankS3
Global rankG5
AR statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

In your garden

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Sources