Poppies (Papaver), columbines (Aquilegia), buttercups (Ranunculus) and related species, are members of the order Ranunculales, the sister lineage to all other eudicots. Using coalescent and concatenated methods on 882 putatively single copy genes, we have developed a robust phylogeny including 27 species representing all major lineages within the Ranunculales and all tribes within the Papaveraceae. This first phylogenomic analysis including exemplar Ranunculales, Asterid, Caryophillid and Rosid species provides necessary foundation for future studies on character evolution in the Ranunculales. For example, the production of benzylisoquinoline alkaloids with known and potential pharmaceutical applications is largely restricted to the Ranunculales. Understanding species relationships within the order is critical for understanding the evolution of benzylisoquinoline alkaloid biosynthesis across the Ranunculales including the production of morphine and codeine in opium poppy (Papaver somniferum). Analysis of gene tree discordance within select portions of the phylogeny suggests that the few observed differences between trees derived from supermatrix and coalescent-based summary analyses are attributable to incomplete lineage sorting.   Discordance between gene tree and species tree inferences should be taken into account in future comparative analyses of character evolution within the Ranunculales.