''Ranunculus repens'', the creeping buttercup, is a

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. They include all forbs (flowering plants without a woody stem), grasses and grass-like plants, a vast majority of ...

in the

buttercup ''Ranunculus'' is a large genus of about almost 1700 to more than 1800 species of flowering plants in the family Ranunculaceae. Members of the genus are known as buttercups, spearworts and water crowfoots. The genus is distributed in Europe ...

family

Ranunculaceae Ranunculaceae (buttercup or crowfoot family; Latin "little frog", from "frog") is a family of over 2,000 known species of flowering plants in 43 genera, distributed worldwide. The largest genera are '' Ranunculus'' (600 species), '' Delphiniu ...

, native to

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located enti ...

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an ...

and northwestern

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

.''Ranunculus'' repens L.
Flora Europaea It is also called creeping crowfoot and (along with restharrow) sitfast.

Description

It is a

herbaceous Herbaceous plants are vascular plants that have no persistent woody stems above ground. This broad category of plants includes many perennials, and nearly all annuals and biennials. Definitions of "herb" and "herbaceous" The fourth edition ...

stolon In biology, stolons (from Latin '' stolō'', genitive ''stolōnis'' – "branch"), also known as runners, are horizontal connections between organisms. They may be part of the organism, or of its skeleton; typically, animal stolons are external ...

iferous

perennial plant A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wide ...

growing to tall. It has both prostrate running stems, which produce

root In vascular plants, the roots are the organs of a plant that are modified to provide anchorage for the plant and take in water and nutrients into the plant body, which allows plants to grow taller and faster. They are most often below the sur ...

s and new plants at the nodes, and more or less erect flowering stems. The basal leaves are compound, borne on a long petiole and divided into three broad leaflets long, shallowly to deeply lobed, each of which is stalked, distinguishing the species from ''

Ranunculus acris ''Ranunculus acris'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Ranunculaceae, and is one of the more common buttercups across Europe and temperate Eurasia. Common names include meadow buttercup, tall buttercup, common buttercup and giant but ...

'' in which the terminal leaflet is

sessile Sessility, or sessile, may refer to: * Sessility (motility), organisms which are not able to move about * Sessility (botany), flowers or leaves that grow directly from the stem or peduncle of a plant * Sessility (medicine), tumors and polyps that ...

.Parnell, P. and Curtis, T. (2012). ''Webb's An Irish Flora.'' Cork University Press. The leaves higher on the stems are smaller, with narrower leaflets and may be simple and lanceolate. Both the stems and the leaves are finely hairy. The

flower A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism ...

s are golden yellow,

glossy Gloss is an optical property which indicates how well a surface reflects light in a specular (mirror-like) direction. It is one of the important parameters that are used to describe the visual appearance of an object. The factors that affect glo ...

, and diameter, usually with five petals, and the flower stem is finely grooved. The gloss is caused by the smooth upper surface of the petal that acts like a mirror; the gloss aids in attracting pollinating insects and

thermoregulation Thermoregulation is the ability of an organism to keep its body temperature within certain boundaries, even when the surrounding temperature is very different. A thermoconforming organism, by contrast, simply adopts the surrounding temperature ...

of the flower's reproductive organs. The

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in partic ...

is a cluster of

achene An achene (; ), also sometimes called akene and occasionally achenium or achenocarp, is a type of simple dry fruit produced by many species of flowering plants. Achenes are monocarpellate (formed from one carpel) and indehiscent (they do not op ...

s long. Creeping buttercup has three-lobed dark green, white-spotted leaves that grow out of the node. It grows in fields and

pastures Pasture (from the Latin ''pastus'', past participle of ''pascere'', "to feed") is land used for grazing. Pasture lands in the narrow sense are enclosed tracts of farmland, grazed by domesticated livestock, such as horses, cattle, sheep, or ...

and prefers wet soil.Blamey, M. & Grey-Wilson, C. (1989). ''Flora of Britain and Northern Europe''. Flora of NW Europe
''Ranunculus repens''
/ref>

Habitat

It is a very common weed of agricultural land and gardens, spreading quickly by its rooting

stolons In biology, stolons (from Latin '' stolō'', genitive ''stolōnis'' – "branch"), also known as runners, are horizontal connections between organisms. They may be part of the organism, or of its skeleton; typically, animal stolons are external s ...

and resisting removal with a deeply anchored filamentous root ball. In

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

: very common in damp places, ditches and flooded areas.Hackney, P. (1992). ''Stewart and Corry's Flora of the North-east of Ireland.'' Third Edition. Institute of Irish Studies and The Queen's University of Belfast .

Cultivation and uses

Creeping buttercup was sold in many parts of the world as an

ornamental plant Ornamental plants or garden plants are plants that are primarily grown for their beauty but also for qualities such as scent or how they shape physical space. Many flowering plants and garden varieties tend to be specially bred cultivars that ...

, and has now become an

invasive species An invasive species otherwise known as an alien is an introduced organism that becomes overpopulated and harms its new environment. Although most introduced species are neutral or beneficial with respect to other species, invasive species adv ...

in many parts of the world. Like most buttercups, ''Ranunculus repens'' is

poison Poison is a chemical substance that has a detrimental effect to life. The term is used in a wide range of scientific fields and industries, where it is often specifically defined. It may also be applied colloquially or figuratively, with a broa ...

ous, although when dried with hay these poisons are lost. The taste of buttercups is acrid, so

cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus '' Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult ...

avoid eating them. The plants then take advantage of the cropped ground around it to spread their stolons. Creeping buttercup also is spread through the transportation of hay. Contact with the

sap Sap is a fluid transported in xylem cells (vessel elements or tracheids) or phloem sieve tube elements of a plant. These cells transport water and nutrients throughout the plant. Sap is distinct from latex, resin, or cell sap; it is a separ ...

of the plant can cause skin blistering.''Ranunculus repens''
Plants for a Future

Etymology

''Ranunculus'' is a diminutive of 'rana', meaning 'little frog'. This name is in reference to the amphibious habitat of many ''Ranunculus'' species.Gledhill, David (2008). "The Names of Plants". Cambridge University Press. pp. 326, 328. ''Repens'' means 'creeping' or 'stoloniferous'.

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q213356

repens ''Eprius'' is a genus of skipper butterflies in the family Hesperiidae. Species *''Eprius repens'' Evans, 1955 *''Eprius repta'' Evans, 1955 *''Eprius veleda ''Eprius'' is a genus of skipper butterflies in the family Hesperiidae. Species ...

Flora of Africa Flora of Asia Flora of Europe Medicinal plants Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Poisonous plants