, Family Buttercup (Ranunculaceae) Height 5"-24" Color Yellow Flowers 1" with 7 or more shiny petals (number varies) Blooms February - May Leaves Bright green, sometimes hairy, pinnate, 3-5 coarse-toothed lobes or leaflets Habitat Moist grassy or wooded slopes     One of the earliest harbingers of spring. Can sometimes be seen blooming in snow. The genus name, Ranunculus, comes from the Latin meaning "little frog." This refers to the fact that it occurs in moist habitat where frogs also occur. Indians boiled the roots like potatoes and roasted the seeds like popcorn. Caution! The raw seeds are poisonous. Indians also extracted a yellow dye from the flowers. Western settlers pickled the young flowers. [1] The Miwok dried, stored, parched, and pulverized seeds, using them for food. [2] caption: file: x - square 0" x 0" at 300 dpi - release: contact us regarding image add image to lightbox References Alden, Peter, and Fred Heath. National Audubon Society Field Guide to California. New York: Knopf, 1998. Beidleman, Linda H., and Eugene N. Kozloff. Plants of the San Francisco Bay Region: Mendocino to Monterey. Berekeley, CA: University of California, 2003. Mount Diablo Wildflowers. Walnut Creek, CA: Mt. Diablo Interpretive Association, 2005. Munz, Philip A. Introduction to California Spring Wildflowers of the Foothills, Valleys, and Coast. Eds. Dianne Lake and Phyllis M. Faber. Berekeley, CA: University of California, 2004. [1] URL: http://www.almaden.ibm.com/almaden/environs/wildflowers/butter.html [2] URL: http://www.nps.gov/archive/prsf/nathist1/wildflowers/yellows/california_buttercup.htm