Creeping buttercup

Ranunculus repens

Creeping buttercup is a bright yellow flower that loves to grow close to the ground. It often spreads across fields and gardens, making them look sunny and cheerful!

Habitat: Wetlands

Appearance

The Creeping buttercup has bright, glossy, golden-yellow, cup-shaped flowers. Its dark green leaves are deeply lobed and often feature pale or silvery markings. It grows close to the ground, forming dense mats with its spreading stems.

KingdomPlantaePhylumTracheophytaClassMagnoliopsidaOrderRanunculalesFamilyRanunculaceaeGenusRanunculus

Creeping buttercup

Interesting facts

Even if mowed down, this plant can quickly regrow from its creeping stems and roots.

Its shiny petals act like tiny mirrors, making the flower appear extra bright to attract insects.

The buttercup's name might come from the legend that children hold them under chins to see if they 'like butter'.

You can find these plants almost anywhere in the world, thriving even in lawns and sidewalks!

Special abilities

Creeping buttercup can spread far and wide using 'runners' called stolons, rooting as they go to conquer new ground.

It can thrive in wet, compacted soil where many other plants struggle, making it a very resilient species.

Its super glossy petals reflect UV light, making them extra visible to pollinating insects like bees and flies.

Measurements & details

Height: 10-50 cm
Spread: 30-150 cm
Flower Size: 1.5-3 cm
Bloom Season: Late spring to early summer
Edible: No
Toxicity: Mild
Lifecycle: Perennial
Pollination Method: Insect

Ecological connections

pollinates

Honey bee

Apis mellifera

Visits flowers for nectar and pollen.

pollinates

Drone fly

Eristalis tenax

Feeds on nectar, aiding in pollination.

eaten by

Leopard slug

Limax maximus

Slugs sometimes graze on the leaves.

Traits

Deciduous

Deciduous plants periodically shed all their leaves, typically during autumn or dry seasons.

Flowering

Flowering plants are any plants that produce flowers as part of their reproductive cycle.

Spring Blooming

Spring blooming plants produce their flowers during the spring season, often signifying the end of winter and the start of new growth.

Colorful

Colorful describes organisms or objects displaying a wide range of bright and distinct colors.

Pollinator Magnet

Describes plants that are particularly attractive and beneficial to a wide range of pollinating organisms.

Rapid Growing

Rapid growing plants exhibit accelerated growth rates, quickly increasing in size and biomass within a short period.

Wetland

This habitat trait identifies species found in wetlands, which are areas of land saturated with water, either permanently or seasonally, including marshes, swamps, and bogs.