{{Short description|Species of flowering plant in the buttercup family}} {{speciesbox | image = Bulbous_Buttercup_(Ranunculus_bulbosus)_-_Flickr_-_Jay_Sturner_(4).jpg | genus = Ranunculus | species = bulbosus | authority = [[Carl Linnaeus|L.]] }}
'''''Ranunculus bulbosus''''', commonly known as '''bulbous buttercup''' or '''St. Anthony's turnip''',<ref>{{PLANTS|id=RABU|taxon=Ranunculus bulbosa|accessdate=18 October 2015}}</ref> is a [[Perennial plant|perennial]] [[flowering plant]] in the [[buttercup]] family [[Ranunculaceae]]. It has bright yellow flowers, and deeply divided, three-lobed long-petioled basal leaves.
==Description== [[File:Ranunculus bulbosus 004.JPG|thumb|left|The “bulb” of the bulbous buttercup]] The stems are {{Convert|20-40|cm|4=0|abbr=on}} tall, erect, branching, and slightly hairy, with a swollen corm-like base.<ref name="Stace-2019">{{cite book|last=Stace|first=C. A.|author-link = Stace, C. A.|year=2019|title=New Flora of the British Isles|edition=Fourth|publisher=C & M Floristics|location = Middlewood Green, Suffolk, U.K.| isbn=978-1-5272-2630-2}}</ref>{{rp|120}}<ref name="Uva-1997">RH Uva, JC Neal and JM Ditomaso (1997) ''Weeds of The Northeast'', Cornell University Press, Ithaca, NY. pp. 294-295</ref> There are alternate and [[Sessility (botany)|sessile]] leaves on the stem. The flower forms at the apex of the stems, with 5–7 petals,<ref name="Uva-1997" /> the sepals strongly reflexed.<ref name="Stace-2019"/> The flowers are glossy yellow and {{Convert|1.5-3|cm|4=1|abbr=on}} wide. The plant blooms from April to July.
==Distribution== The native range of ''Ranunculus bulbosus'' is Western Europe between about 60°N and the Northern [[Mediterranean Sea|Mediterranean]] [[coast]]. It grows in both the eastern and western parts of [[North America]] as an introduced weed.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.gardenorganic.org.uk/organicweeds/weed_information/weed.php?id=70 |title=Weed management |access-date=2007-04-03 |archive-date=2012-02-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120205111022/http://www.gardenorganic.org.uk/organicweeds/weed_information/weed.php?id=70 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Bulbous buttercup grows in lawns, [[pastures]] and fields in general, preferring nutrient-poor, well-drained soils. Although it doesn't generally grow in proper crops or improved [[grassland]], it is often found in [[hay]] fields<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.ppws.vt.edu/scott/weed_id/ranbu.htm |title=Bulbous Buttercup: ''Ranunculus bulbosus'' |access-date=2005-11-16 |archive-date=2006-12-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061210084212/http://www.ppws.vt.edu/scott/weed_id/ranbu.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> and in coastal grassland.
==Etymology== The bulbous buttercup gets its name from its distinctive [[perennating organ]], a bulb-like swollen underground stem or [[corm]], which is situated just below the soil surface. After the plant dies in heat of summer, the corm survives underground through the winter.<ref name="Coles-1973">S Coles (1973) ''Ranunculus bulbosus'' L in Europe. Watsonia 9: 207-228</ref><ref name="Sarukhan-1974">J Sarukhan (1974) Studies on plant demography: ''Ranunculus repens'' L., ''R. bulbosus'' L. and ''R. acris'' L.: II. Reproductive strategies and seed population dynamics. The Journal of Ecology: 151-177</ref> Although the presence of a corm distinguishes ''Ranunculus bulbosus'' from some other species of buttercup such as ''Ranunculus acris'', the species also has distinctive reflexed [[sepal]]s.
Other names for the bulbous buttercup are "Goldcup" because of the colour and shape of the leaves, and "Frogs-foot" from their form.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FgW4KJUSXkIC&pg=PA149|page=149|title=A Modern Herbal: The Medicinal, Culinary, Cosmetic and Economic Properties, Cultivation and Folk-lore of Herbs, Grasses, Fungi, Shrubs, & Trees with All Their Modern Scientific Uses, Volume 1|author=Grieve, Maud|year=1971|publisher=Courier Corporation |isbn=9780486227986}}</ref>
==Uses and in culture== This plant, like other [[buttercup]]s, contains the toxic [[glycoside]] [[ranunculin]], which gives it a bitter, acid taste, so cases of poisoning in humans are rare.<ref name="Cooper-2003">{{cite book |last1=Cooper |first1=M.R. |last2=Johnson |first2=A.W. |last3=Dauncey |first3=E.A. |title=Poisonous Plants and Fungi |date=2003 |publisher=The Stationery Office |location=London |isbn=0-11-702861-4}}</ref> It is also avoided by livestock when fresh, but when the plant dries the toxin is lost, so hay containing the plant is safe for animal consumption.<ref name="Uva-1997" /> Pigs are unaffected by the toxin and eat bulbous buttercups avidly, being prepared to travel long distances to find them;<ref name="Grieve-1931">{{cite book |last1=Grieve |first1=Maud |title=A Modern Herbal |date=1931 |publisher=Dover Publications Inc. |location=New York |isbn=0-486-22798-7}}</ref> hence the folk name of the plant, [[Anthony the Great|St Antony's]] Turnip, after the patron saint of swineherds.
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * {{Commons category-inline|Ranunculus bulbosus|''Ranunculus bulbosus''}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q939633}}
[[Category:Ranunculus|bulbosus]] [[Category:Flora of Europe]] [[Category:Medicinal plants]] [[Category:Plants described in 1753]] [[Category:Botanical taxa named by Carl Linnaeus]]