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.
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Deeply cut leaves of tall buttercup |
More information on creeping buttercup (Weeds BC)
Return to Field Guide to Noxious and Other Selected Weeds of BC

