Field Guide to Noxious and Other Selected Weeds of British Columbia
Creeping Buttercup
(Ranunculus repens)
Photo courtesy Dean Swan, Washington State University (retired)
perennial with slender, fibrous roots; dark green leaves, often
with white spots, are divided into 3 leaflets and are hairy and
deeply obed; hairy stems root at the nodes; bright yellow waxy
flowers divided into 5 petals; seeds are smooth with a hooked
apical beak
as with most buttercup species, contains a toxin that can result
in pain and inflammation in grazing animals; not a problem when
cured in hay
sometimes confused with tall buttercup (Ranunculus acris)
which has a more upright growth habit and more deeply cut leaf
lobes.
