buttercup
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buttercup
orcrowfoot,
common name for the Ranunculaceae, a family of chiefly annual or perennial herbs of cool regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Thought to be one of the most primitive families of dicotyledenous plantsplant,any organism of the plant kingdom, as opposed to one of the animal kingdom or of the kingdoms Fungi, Protista, or Monera in the five-kingdom system of classification.
..... Click the link for more information. , the Ranunculaceae typically have a simple flower structure in which each flower part may be separate rather than fused into a single organ (see flowerflower,
name for the specialized part of a plant containing the reproductive organs, applied to angiosperms only. A flower may be thought of as a modified, short, compact branch bearing lateral appendages.
..... Click the link for more information. ). Many buttercups are aquatic plants, hence the Latin name for the genus Ranunculus [little frog]. The family includes numerous familiar wildflowers and many cultivated ornamentals. Well-known representatives are the aconiteaconite
, monkshood,
or wolfsbane,
any of several species of the genus Aconitum of the family Ranunculaceae (buttercup family), hardy perennial plants of the north temperate zone, growing wild or cultivated for ornamental or medicinal purposes.
..... Click the link for more information. , anemoneanemone
or windflower,
any of the perennial herbs, wild or cultivated, of the genus Anemone of the family Ranunculaceae (buttercup family). A rich legendary history has gained the anemone many names and attributes.
..... Click the link for more information. , baneberrybaneberry,
any plant of the small genus Actaea, north temperate perennials of the family Ranunculaceae (buttercup family) sometimes cultivated for the handsome (though poisonous) berrylike fruits.
..... Click the link for more information. , bugbanebugbane,
any plant of the genus Cimicifuga, tall north-temperate perennials of the family Ranunculaceae (buttercup family). The white spirelike bloom has a rank odor that attracts flies, which pollinate the plant. Common in woodlands of E North America is C.
..... Click the link for more information. , clematisclematis
, any plant of the large genus Clematis (sometimes subdivided into three or four genera), widely distributed herbs or vines of the family Ranunculaceae (buttercup family), many of them native to the United States. Some have an irritating sap.
..... Click the link for more information. (one of the few vine genera), columbinecolumbine
, any plant of the genus Aquilegia, temperate-zone perennials of the family Ranunculaceae (buttercup family), popular both as wildflowers and as garden flowers. Columbines have delicate and attractive foliage and flower petals with long spurs that secrete nectar.
..... Click the link for more information. , globeflowerglobeflower,
common name for any plant of the genus Trollius of the family Ranunculaceae (buttercup family), hardy perennials of north temperate meadows and swamps.
..... Click the link for more information. , helleborehellebore
, name usually for plants of the genus Helleborus of the family Ranunculaceae (buttercup family), Eurasian perennials with attractive palmately divided leaves and flowers of various colors.
..... Click the link for more information. , hepaticahepatica
or liverleaf,
any plant of the genus Hepatica of the family Ranunculaceae (buttercup family), low, woodland, spring wildflowers of the north temperate zone, popular for wild gardens.
..... Click the link for more information. , larkspurlarkspur,
any north temperate, Old World annual of the genus Consolida of the buttercup family. Consolida species were formerly classified in the genus Delphinium,
..... Click the link for more information. , love-in-a-mistlove-in-a-mist,
hardy annual garden plant (Nigella damascena) of the family Ranunculaceae (buttercup family), having finely cut foliage and blue or white flowers surrounded by a cluster of thready bracts.
..... Click the link for more information. , marsh marigoldmarsh marigold,
perennial spring-blooming Old World and North American plant (Caltha palustris) of the family Ranunculaceae (buttercup family), found in wet places. It has rounded glossy leaves and large buttercuplike flowers of bright and shining yellow.
..... Click the link for more information. (the American cowslip), meadow ruemeadow rue,
any plant of the genus Thalictrum of the family Ranunculaceae (buttercup family). Most are tall perennials (up to 7 ft/2.1 m high) bearing summer flowers with showy, pendent tassels of long stamens, greenish sepals, and no petals.
..... Click the link for more information. , and peonypeony
, any plant of the genus Paeonia of the family Ranunculaceae (buttercup family, although placed in the order Dilleniales as a separate family, the Paeoniaceae, by many modern botanists), mostly Eurasian species popular as garden and florists' flowers.
..... Click the link for more information. .
The largest genus, Ranunculus, comprises the buttercups and crowfoots, names often used interchangeably. Found throughout arctic, north temperate, and alpine regions, with species in the Andes and in subantarctic areas, this genus is characterized by glossy yellow flowers (hence the name buttercup) and deeply cut leaves (supposedly resembling crows' feet). Like some other members of the family, species of this genus contain an acrid juice that makes them unpalatable for livestock and in some species poisonous. A dozen or more species are common in every part of the United States. Among those cultivated for garden and cut flowers are some double-blossomed Old World species, e.g., the turban, or Persian, buttercup (R. asiaticus), valued for the variety of its colors (all but blue), and the creeping buttercup (R. repens), native to both North America and Europe. The fig buttercup (R. ficaria), or lesser celandine—a name more commonly applied to some plants of the poppypoppy,
common name for some members of the Papaveraceae, a family composed chiefly of herbs of the Northern Hemisphere having a characteristic milky or colored sap. Most species are native to the Old World; many are cultivated in gardens for their brilliantly colored if
..... Click the link for more information. family—is native to W Eurasia. It is considered an invasive plant in North America.
The buttercup family is classified in the division MagnoliophytaMagnoliophyta
, division of the plant kingdom consisting of those organisms commonly called the flowering plants, or angiosperms. The angiosperms have leaves, stems, and roots, and vascular, or conducting, tissue (xylem and phloem).
..... Click the link for more information. , class Magnoliopsida, order Ranunculales.
Buttercup
the popular name for certain herbaceous plants, predominantly with yellow flowers. Plants of the genus Ranunculus, primarily the species Ranunculus acris, are most often called buttercups. R. acris is a perennial, measuring 20–80 cm. tall, with a hairy stem and generally digitipartite leaves. The flowers are golden-yellow, on long peduncles; they bloom at the beginning of the summer. R. acris grows in the temperate zone of Eurasia; in the USSR it is found in meadows, forest glades, brushwood, and forests in the European USSR, Western Siberia, and Middle Asia. It is poisonous: the juice produces severe burns on the skin and causes tearing and sharp pain in the eyes. The buttercup is a meadow weed, rarely eaten by cattle.