Ficaria verna, commonly known as lesser celandine or pilewort, is a low-growing, hairless perennial flowering plant in the buttercup family Ranunculaceae native to Europe and Western Asia. It has fleshy dark green, heart-shaped leaves and distinctive flowers with bright yellow, glossy petals. It is now introduced in North America, where it is known by the common name fig buttercup and considered an invasive species. The plant is poisonous if ingested raw and potentially fatal to grazing animals and livestock such as horses, cattle, and sheep. For these reasons, several US states have banned the plant or listed it as a noxious weed. It prefers bare, damp ground and is considered by horticulturalists in the United Kingdom as a persistent garden weed; nevertheless, many specialist plantsmen, nursery owners and discerning gardeners in the UK and Europe collect selected cultivars of the plant, including bronze-leaved and double-flowered ones. Emerging in late winter with flowers appearing late February through May in the UK, its appearance across the landscape is regarded by many as a harbinger of spring.
Ranunculus is a large genus of about 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.
Ranunculus asiaticus, the Persian buttercup, is a species of buttercup (Ranunculus) native to the eastern Mediterranean region, southwestern Asia, southeastern Europe, and northeastern Africa.
Ranunculus pygmaeus, the pygmy buttercup or dwarf buttercup, is a species of buttercup found throughout the Arctic, as well as in the mountains of Norway and the Rocky Mountains. A few populations also exist in the Eastern Alps and Tatra Mountains.
Ranunculus bulbosus, commonly known as bulbous buttercup or St. Anthony's turnip, is a perennial flowering plant in the buttercup family Ranunculaceae. It has bright yellow flowers, and deeply divided, three-lobed long-petioled basal leaves.
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 buttercup.
Ranunculus lyallii, is a species of Ranunculus (buttercup), endemic to New Zealand, where it occurs in the South Island and on Stewart Island at altitudes of 700–1,500 m. R. lyallii is the largest species in the genus Ranunculus, growing over a meter in height.
Ranunculus sceleratus known by the common names celery-leaved buttercup, celery-leaf buttercup, and cursed buttercup is a species of flowering plant in the buttercup family Ranunculaceae. It has a circumpolar distribution in the northern hemisphere, native to temperate and boreal North America and Eurasia, where it grows in wet and moist habitats, including ponds and streambanks.
Ranunculus longirostris, the longbeak buttercup, is an aquatic plant in the buttercup family.
Ranunculus aconitifolius, the aconite-leaf buttercup or bachelor's buttons, is a species of flowering plant in the buttercup family Ranunculaceae, native to central Europe. 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.
Ranunculus aestivalis is a rare species of buttercup known by the common names fall buttercup and autumn buttercup. It is endemic to the state of Utah in the United States, where it exists only in Garfield County next to the Sevier River. It is restricted to a moist microhabitat in an otherwise dry, open ecosystem, and the amount of available habitat is very limited. This is a federally listed endangered species of the United States. It has been described as "the most graceful and showy members of the genus in the western United States," but also "one of the state's rarest and most restricted plants."
Ranunculus lappaceus, commonly known as the common buttercup, Australian buttercup or Yarrakalgamba, is found across eastern Australia. Like buttercups elsewhere, it is a perennial herb with yellow flowers appearing in spring and summer.
Ranunculus abortivus is a species of flowering plant in the buttercup family, Ranunculaceae. Its common names include littleleaf buttercup, small-flower crowfoot, small-flowered buttercup, and kidneyleaf buttercup. It is widespread across much of North America, found in all ten Canadian provinces as well as Yukon and the Northwest Territories, and most of the United States, except Hawaii, Oregon, California, and parts of the Southwest.
Ranunculus pensylvanicus is a flowering plant species in the buttercup family, Ranunculaceae. Common names include bristly buttercup, bristly crowfoot and Pennsylvania buttercup. It is native to North America with a distribution over the northern part of the continent.
Smallflower buttercup or small-flowered buttercup is a common name for several plants and may refer to:
Ranunculus acaulis, in Australia and New Zealand called dune buttercup, sand buttercup or shore buttercup, is a yellow-flowered, small, fleshy herb, that grows in mats in damp places mostly near the sea. It occurs naturally in Australia, New Zealand, Chile and the Falklands. It flowers between August and April and sets seed from September till July.
Ranunculus viridis, the Mount Allen buttercup, is a critically endangered species of alpine Ranunculus (buttercup), endemic to Rakiura/Stewart Island, New Zealand, where it occurs at altitudes of 700 metres (2,300 ft) on Mount Allen in the Tin Range.
Ranunculus lingua, the greater spearwort, great spearwort, tongue-leaved crowfoot, or water buttercup, is a plant species in the family Ranunculaceae native to temperate areas of Europe, Siberia and through to the western Himalayas. It is a semiaquatic plant that prefers to grow in about 40 cm (16 in) of water in a variety of wetland habitats. A cultivar called 'Grandiflorus', the large-flowered greater spearwort, has 6 cm flowers and is favored by gardeners.
