Brandegee’s Buttercup: Colorado’s Mysterious Native Wildflower
Meet Brandegee’s buttercup (Ranunculus macauleyi var. brandegeei), one of Colorado’s more enigmatic native wildflowers. If you’re scratching your head wondering why you’ve never heard of this plant, you’re not alone – this particular variety of buttercup is about as elusive as a unicorn in the gardening world.
What Makes This Buttercup Special?
Brandegee’s buttercup is a native perennial forb, which is a fancy way of saying it’s a non-woody flowering plant that comes back year after year. As a member of the buttercup family, it shares DNA with those cheerful yellow flowers you might know, but this Colorado native has carved out its own unique niche in the Rocky Mountain state.
Where You’ll Find It (Or Won’t)
This buttercup calls Colorado home and apparently isn’t interested in spreading beyond state lines. It’s a true Colorado endemic, making it as local as green chile and craft beer. The plant’s limited geographic distribution suggests it has very specific habitat requirements that aren’t easily replicated elsewhere.
The Cultivation Conundrum
Here’s where things get interesting (and a bit frustrating for us plant enthusiasts): there’s virtually no information available about growing Brandegee’s buttercup in home gardens. This could mean several things:
- It’s extremely rare and difficult to cultivate
- It has very specific habitat requirements that are hard to replicate
- It simply hasn’t caught the attention of the horticultural community
- Seeds or plants aren’t readily available to home gardeners
Should You Try to Grow It?
The short answer is: probably not, at least not without doing some serious detective work first. Since we don’t know this plant’s rarity status or specific growing requirements, attempting to cultivate it could be challenging at best and potentially problematic at worst.
If you’re absolutely fascinated by this mysterious buttercup, your best bet would be to:
- Contact Colorado native plant societies or botanical gardens
- Reach out to university extension services in Colorado
- Consult with local botanists or wildflower experts
- Check if any specialized native plant nurseries in Colorado carry it
Better Buttercup Alternatives
While you’re playing plant detective with Brandegee’s buttercup, consider these more readily available native alternatives that might satisfy your buttercup cravings:
- Prairie buttercup (Ranunculus rhomboideus) – if you’re in the right region
- Other native Ranunculus species appropriate for your area
- Native wildflowers with similar aesthetic appeal and known cultivation requirements
The Mystery Continues
Sometimes the most intriguing plants are the ones that remain mysterious. Brandegee’s buttercup represents the wild, untamed side of native flora – the plants that haven’t been domesticated, studied extensively, or bred for garden performance. While this makes them challenging to grow, it also makes them special reminders of the complex, hidden diversity in our native ecosystems.
If you do manage to track down more information about this elusive Colorado native, consider yourself part of a very exclusive club. And if you ever succeed in growing it, you might just become the internet’s leading expert on Brandegee’s buttercup cultivation!
