General description
Ranunculus auricomus, known as goldilocks buttercup,[1] is a perennial species of buttercup native to Eurasia. It is a calcicole typically found in moist woods and at the margins of woods. It is apomictic, and several hundred agamospecies have been recognised.[1]
The plants are about 40cm tall, the basal leaves variably three-lobed. The stem leaves are few and deeply divided giving the plant a filiform appearance. The flowers are frequently imperfect or distorted. They are bright yellow, the petals fall easily or absent.[1]:114
The species is native to Eurasia, approximately from latitudes 43 to 71 degrees and from Western Ireland to the Ural Mountains. [1]