Farnham Park |  Farnham Park plant list (text) |  Farnham Park flower list (pictures)

Meadow Buttercup Buttercup family
Ranunculus acris Ranunculaceae

Meadow buttercup is a common flower in meadows. It has a bright yellow flower, with a slightly burnished appearance caused by light reflecting from starch grains within the structure of the petals.
The flowers are visited by small bees, hoverflies and other insects. Slight differences in the time of ripening of stamens and stigmas favour cross-pollination.

Meadow Buttercup plants Meadow Buttercup flower

Hairy calyx Leaf Fruit
Side-on view of flower, showing hairy calyx Leaf Achenes




Technical Information
Perennial herb, 20-100 cm tall
Stems tall, erect, branched, round
Leaves: deeply cut into 3-5 lobes which divide into narrow toothed segments; hairy
Calyx: 5 spreading sepals
Flowers: golden-yellow, 5 petals, 18-25mm across
Fruit: achenes 2-3.5mm long with a short hooked beak in a globose head
Flowering time: April-September
Habitat: Grassland, roadsides, ditches
Distribution: Very common throughout Britain




Farnham Park |  Farnham Park plant list (text) |  Farnham Park flower list (pictures)