Early Buttercup
Ranunculus fascicularis
Found in prairies and grasslands; glades, barrens and outcrops on mafic or serpentine rock; glades, barrens and outcrops on limestone; oak savannas and openings. FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you
Native to Virginia. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 94%
- Height
- 6–12 inches
- Light
- Full sun
- Soil moisture
- Dry to somewhat dry
At a glance
- Life cycle
- Perennial
- Bloom
- February to May
- Fruiting season
- March to June
Not yet recorded · Spread · Leaves
Recorded in 24 Virginia counties.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.
Glades, barrens and outcrops on limestone
Glades, barrens and outcrops on mafic or serpentine rock
Open, thin-soil openings, outcrops and cliffs on dark, magnesium- or iron-rich rock such as serpentine, diabase or gabbro.
Who uses this plant?
7CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including VA
Genus host records with ranges including VA · Ranunculus
- Clepsis persicanaWhite Triangle Tortrix
- Herpetogramma pertextalisBold-Feathered Grass Moth
- Melanchra adjunctaHitched Arches
- Papaipema nebrisStalk Borer
- Pyrrhia exprimensPurple-Lined Sallow, Purple-Lined Sun Moth
- Sparganothis sulfureanaSparganothis Fruitworm Moth, Sulfur Leafroller, False Yellow-Head
- Sparganothis unifascianaOne-Lined Sparganothis
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
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
Beetles 1
- Asclera ruficollis
Flower visits · Carlinville, Illinois, USA
Flies 6
- Melanostoma mellinum
- Pipiza femoralis
- Sphaerophoria cylindrica
- Syrphus americanus
- Syrphus arcuatus
- Xylota fraudulosa
Flower visits · Carlinville, Illinois, USA
Adult butterflies / moths 1
- Thanaos juvenalis
Flower visits · Carlinville, Illinois, USA
No records yet · Ants · Other wasps · Other insects
Plant details
- Family
- Ranunculaceae
- Flower color
- Yellow
- Fruit begins
- March
- Fruit ends
- June
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “February to May” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Flower color · “Yellow” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Fruit begins · “March” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Fruit ends · “June” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Height · “6–12 inches” · Tennessee Smart Yards (ranked first; Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, Minnesota Wildflowers differ) · Published Tennessee growing guidance; exact cached scientific heading
- Life cycle · “Perennial” · Minnesota Wildflowers
- Light · “Full sun” · Tennessee Smart Yards (ranked first; Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center differs) · Published Tennessee growing guidance; exact cached scientific heading
- primary_flower_color · “yellow” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Soil · “moderately dry to dry” · Tennessee Smart Yards · Published Tennessee growing guidance; exact cached scientific heading
Also known as
Thick Root Butter Cup
Conservation status
| Virginia rank | S4? |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G5 |
| VA status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
Will it fit your yard?
Check this plant against your county, sun and soil moisture. Conditions are checked in your browser.
Growing cautions
- Self-seeds. Spreads by re-seeding. Tennessee Smart Yards
For planning only; these do not change the score or Fit.
Sources
- Digital Atlas of the Virginia Flora
- USDA PLANTS
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Weakley), phone app (app page)
- FloraQuest: Northern Tier (Weakley), phone app (app page)
- NatureServe Explorer
- Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
- Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Smith, Bachelder, Russell, Morales, Mosher & Seltmann 2024, Bee-Specialization-Modeling v0.6.1 (specialist host table compiled from J. Fowler's pollen specialist bee lists), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)
- Narango, Tallamy & Shropshire 2020, Few keystone plant genera support the majority of Lepidoptera species, Nature Communications