''Ranunculus nivalis'', the snow buttercup, is a species of plant in the family

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

. It is a perennial herb that grows up to . It grows in wet alpine meadows, cliffs and streamsides. It displays prevalent

heliotropism Heliotropism, a form of tropism, is the diurnal or seasonal motion of plant parts (flowers or leaves) in response to the direction of the Sun. The habit of some plants to move in the direction of the Sun, a form of tropism, was already known by th ...

, thus gaining an advantage in its harsh, cold environment through capturing more

solar energy Solar energy is the radiant energy from the Sun's sunlight, light and heat, which can be harnessed using a range of technologies such as solar electricity, solar thermal energy (including solar water heating) and solar architecture. It is a ...

by following the sun.

References

nivalis Flora of the Arctic Flora of Northern Canada Flora of Greenland Flora of Norway Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus {{ranunculaceae-stub