![]() ![]() Bulbous buttercup ( Ranunculus bulbosus), which is considered a potential famine food, has bulbous roots that are caustic when fresh but can be eaten when they're boiled or completely dried. The plant that I am referring to has small yellow flowers that range in size from dime to quarter sized. Some of them are ornamental flowers that we like to see and grow. There are actually different species of Ranunculus. The scientific name for buttercup is Ranunculus. The most pernicious culprits in North America include tall buttercup ( Ranunculus acris), creeping buttercup ( Ranunculus repens) and cursed buttercup ( Ranunculus sceleratus), to name a few. That is a common name for a different plant that also has yellow flowers. Dead and dried plants are generally considered safe. While buttercups vary in levels of toxicity, individual plants are at their most toxic in spring when they're alive and flowering. Swallow some buttercups and you'll find yourself in a world of hurt, including but not limited to symptoms like abdominal pain, diarrhea and vomiting, dizziness and even paralysis. The toxic oil is also a serious eye irritant. If the leaves are chewed by humans or beasts, blisters may form on the lips and face. Contact with protoanemonin will mess you up in a dermatitis kind of way - causing burning and itching with accompanying rash and blisters. When the leaves of buttercups are crushed or bruised they release a compound called ranunculin that breaks down into an acrid, toxic oil called protoanemonin. Members include Anemone (anemones), Ranunculus (buttercups), Aconitum (aconite), and Clematis. The Ranunculus genus is part of the Ranunculaceae, a family of flowering plants also known as the 'buttercup family' or 'crowfoot family.' The family name is derived from the genus Ranunculus. The upper leaves have short to no stalks and are smaller than the basal leaves. Ranunculus glacialis, one of the white-flowering species. Base leaves on long petioles that are deeply divided into 3 - 7 segments. Hairy plant up to 1 m tall, arising from a stout rhizome. Some farmers even rubbed the yellow blossoms on the udders. Farmers long ago thought cows eating buttercups would improve the color of their butter. Pliny the Elder, 23-79 AD, used that name for the buttercup which should tell you man has been familiar with the plant family for a long time. All species of ranunculus are poisonous to both animals and humans. giant buttercup, common buttercup, tall buttercup. The genus name, Ranunculus, is Dead Latin for small frog. ![]()
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