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Members of the genus are known as buttercups, spearworts and water crowfoots. The genus is distributed worldwide, primarily in temperate and montane regions. [ 2 ] The familiar and widespread buttercup of gardens throughout Northern Europe (and introduced elsewhere) is the creeping buttercup Ranunculus repens , which has extremely tough and ...
Ranunculus asiaticus, the Persian buttercup, is a species of buttercup native to the eastern Mediterranean region, southwestern Asia, southeastern Europe (Crete, Karpathos and Rhodes), and northeastern Africa.
Like buttercups elsewhere, it is a perennial herb with yellow flowers appearing in spring and summer. James Edward Smith described it in 1815, and it still bears its original name. [1] It is a member of the large cosmopolitan genus Ranunculus, known as buttercups. The species name is Latin "with burrs". [3]
Growing to 60 cm (24 in) high by 40 cm (16 in) broad, this herbaceous perennial has slightly hairy palmate leaves up to 20 cm (8 in) long, and loose panicles of white, saucer-shaped flowers in spring. [2] [3] This species forms clumps, sometimes large colonies in moist places in mountains, meadows, edges of ditches and streams.
Like most buttercups, Ranunculus repens is poisonous, although these poisons are lost when dried with hay. The taste of buttercups is acrid, so cattle avoid eating them. The plants then take advantage of the cropped ground around them to spread their stolons. Creeping buttercup also is spread through the transportation of hay.
It produces yellow flowers in early spring. It can be difficult to distinguish from the similar looking Ranunculus hispidus , which occupies much of the same range. In general, Ranunculus fascicularis has an earlier bloom time than Ranunculus hispidus , and is more typically found in drier habitats. [ 5 ]
Ranunculus abortivus is a species of flowering plant in the buttercup family, Ranunculaceae.Its common names include littleleaf buttercup, [1] small-flower crowfoot, [2] small-flowered buttercup, [3] and kidneyleaf buttercup. [4]
This plant, like other buttercups, contains the toxic glycoside ranunculin, which gives it a bitter, acid taste, so cases of poisoning in humans are rare. [9] It is also avoided by livestock when fresh, but when the plant dries the toxin is lost, so hay containing the plant is safe for animal consumption. [ 3 ]