Ranunculus occidentalis

{{Short description|Species of plant}}

{{Speciesbox

|image = Ranunculus occidentalis 39003.JPG

|image_caption = R. occidentalis in Anacortes, Washington

|genus = Ranunculus

|species = occidentalis

|authority = Nutt.

}}

Ranunculus occidentalis, the western buttercup,{{PLANTS|id=RAOC|taxon=Ranunculus occidentalis|access-date=18 October 2015}} 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. The flower can be seen in open meadows, forests, and other generally flat areas up to an elevation of {{convert|2200|m|ft}}.{{cite web |url=http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/get_JM_treatment.pl?Ranunculus%20occidentalis |title=Jepson Manual Treatment for Ranunculus occidentalis |publisher=University of California Berkeley Jepson Treatments |access-date=2009-06-05}}

Aleut first nations may have used juice from the plant as a poison,[http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=233501179 Flora of North America] its toxicity arising from the substance protoanemonin.{{cite journal |title=Botanical and ethnobotanical studies in the Aleutian Islands - Health and Medical Lore … |publisher=Michigan Academy of Science, Arts and Letters |author=Bank, Theodore |page=428 |date=1953 }} Shasta first nations coincided blooming Ranunculus occidentalis with salmon runs in the summer.{{cite journal |title= Shasta Ethnography |author=Holt, Catharine |date=1946 |page=310 |publisher=University of California, Berkeley}} The seeds were used to make pinole, a staple food.[http://herb.umd.umich.edu/herb/search.pl?searchstring=Ranunculus+occidentalis Ethnobotany]

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