The Neapolitan buttercup is a species with a northwestern Mediterranean distribution, present in almost all the regions of Italy (missing in Piedmont, Valle d'Aosta, Emilia-Romagna and Trentino-Alto Adige), but more common in the central and southern ones. It grows in wet meadows, from which it has passed to disturbed environments, such as mowed lawns and flower beds, even in urban areas, below the montane belt. The species is sporadic in the outer belt of the Sardinian temporary ponds, in contact with hydric grasslands. The fresh parts are poisonous (protoanemonine). The genus name, the Latin for 'little frog', was used since ancient times only for the aquatic species of the subgenus Batrachion, also a diminutive of the Greek 'batràchos' (frog); the species name refers to the city of Naples, where the species is common. Flowering period: April to June. Syn.: Ranunculus bulbosus L. subsp. aleae auct.

Italian name(s): Ranuncolo bulboso (Italia), Ranuncolo bulboso senza bulbo (Italia), Ranuncolo napoletano (Italia).