The first wildflower to emerge each year is the sagebrush buttercup. We see it on south-facing slopes are lower elevations on early March. It is a perennial that has fibrous roots. The stems push up through the soil and serrated leaves form at the base. Yellow glossy flowers grace the faded colors of the season.

Although buttercups and all of the ranunculus family are poisonous, there are few problems because cattle and other grazing animals find the plant distasteful. The effects of the poison are dissipated in late season hay where the plant is dessicated. First Nations people used the poison on the arrowheads for hunting.

We welcome the buttercups in the grasslands in late winter/early spring, but at higher elevations, a relative called sub-alpine buttercups will appear in summer soon after the snowmelt for another burst of yellow.