Rock Buttercup
Ranunculus micranthus
Found in rich bottomland forests, also upslope on moist to dry forests and rock outcrops over mafic or calcareous substrates. FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you
Native to Virginia. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 94%
- Height
- Up to about 16 inches
- Light
- Partial shade, Full shade
- Soil moisture
- Dry to moist
At a glance
- Life cycle
- Perennial
- Bloom
- March to June
Not yet recorded · Spread · Leaves
Recorded in 34 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
Floodplain and bottomland forests
Forests on low ground beside rivers and streams that flood from time to time.
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.
Forests and open woodlands on dry ridges and slopes, often oak or pine.
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
No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects
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
- Bloom · “March to June” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Flower color · “Yellow” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Height · “Up to about 16 inches” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Life cycle · “Perennial” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Light · “Partial shade; Full shade (documented habitat)” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
- primary_flower_color · “yellow” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Soil · “Dry; Moist (documented habitat)” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
Also known as
Small Flower Buttercup
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.
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: South Central (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