Four members of the Buttercup family are seen on the Wildlife Site, Creeping Buttercup (Ranunculus repens), Meadow buttercup (Ranunculus acris), Lesser Spearwort (Ranunculus flammula) and Lesser Celandine (Ranunculus Ficaria).
Creeping Buttercup is the familiar plant with bright yellow, five petal, flowers from May-August. Gardeners and farmers regard Creeping Buttercup as a weed which invades lawns, gardens and meadows. It occurs frequently throughout the Wildlife Site.
Meadow buttercup is a tall plant with, branched sprays of yellow flowers similar to those of the Creeping Buttercup, which give the hay meadows, Fields 1 and 2, a yellow hue in summertime. Its leaves have more finely cut lobes than Creeping Buttercup and it has no creeping runners.
Lesser Spearwort (Ranunculus flammula) is a tall buttercup found, occasionally, only in the wetter areas of Fields 1, 2, 6, and the margin of the pond in Field 3, where it flowers from June-October. As its name suggests its leaves are spear shaped and unlike those of other buttercups. Lesser Spearwort is common in the UK but, because the area it occupies in England has declined, it is classified as Vulnerable in the Vascular Plant Red List for England.
Lesser Celandine is a low growing plant with heart shaped leaves and yellow flowers with more petals (8-12) than the other buttercups One of the earliest wild flowers, it is seen occasionally in all fields of the Wildlife Site in early spring.
Photographs of Buttercups
Click on the photograph for larger images and captions.
Further Information
For further information on the species in this group, please click the links below:
Creeping Buttercup Meadow Buttercup Lesser Spearwort Lesser Celandine
