Creeping buttercup (Ranunculus repens) is the buttercup
variety that you do not want to get in your garden! It sends out runners in all
directions that, every few inches, establish new plants and make it difficult
for plants such as grass to get a foothold. Unless you are able to get every
scrap of creeping buttercup removed, your lawn can quite easily be ruined.
On farmland the effect can be even worse because cattle will
avoid it when grazing – it is unpleasant to the taste – and take the grass
instead. This only leaves more room for the creeping buttercup to spread into.
If the land is ploughed, the buttercup plants can easily regenerate many times
over from the pieces that the plough has cut up.
The plant can be short or tall, depending on soil
conditions. It can therefore be a ground-hugger, only two inches (five
centimetres) high, or grow up to 20 inches (50 centimetres) in height. The hairy
leaves, on long stalks, have three lobes with the central one being much larger
than the other two. The yellow flowers, which are single or in clusters, can be
seen from May to September.
© John Welford
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