Creeping Buttercup

Ranunculus repens L.

Ranunculaceae (Buttercup Family)

mature plants with flowers, showing spotted leaves▲

plant with stolons▲

flower and fruit▲

spotted leaves▲

▲ creeping buttercup growing in a lawn

Location on/near campus:  not known

Creeping Buttercup:

·         a creeping perennial groundcover/weed native to Europe that spread along the ground by stolons that root at the nodes

·        grows 6-12 inches tall

·         leaves are trifoliate, dark green, with lighter marks at bases of marginal teeth or lobes; leaves are 1-2 inches diameter

·        flowers are one inch diameter, bright yellow with a waxy appearance; flowering mainly in late spring, but may flower through summer

·        prefers part sun to moderate shade; needs moist, well-drained, high organic matter soils for best growth

·        may escape into lawns or woodland undergrowth

·        similar Indian mock strawberry (Duchesnia indica) in the Rose Family, has similar yellow flowers, grows in lawns, but it has 3, oval, toothed leaflets per leaf (similar to cultivated strawberry) and it produces a tiny red, almost tasteless, srawberry-like fruit