Updated 04-May-2020.
Mondo shtuff from around the internet, all about RANUNCULUS!
My botty best at summarizing from Wikipedia: members of the genus are known as buttercups, spearworts and water crowfoots . the familiar and widespread buttercup is the creeping buttercup Ranunculus repens . the water crowfoots are sometimes treated in a separate genus Batrachium (from Greek bátrakhos, “frog”) they have two different leaf types, thread-like leaves underwater some species are popular ornamental flowers in horticulture, with many cultivars selected for large and brightly coloured flowers . in many perennial species runners are sent out that will develop new plants with roots and rosettes at the the name buttercup may derive from a false belief that the plants give butter its characteristic yellow hue . buttercup is poisonous to cows and other livestock . children’s game involves holding a buttercup up to the chin; a yellow reflection is supposed to indicate fondness for butter . in the interior of the Pacific Northwest, the buttercup is called “Coyote the split (and often re-recognized) genera include Arcteranthis Greene, Beckwithia Jeps., Callianthemoides Tamura, Coptidium (Prantl) some Ranunculus species may be used against fever, rheumatism and rubefacient in traditional medicines . hay containing dried buttercups is safe . poisoning in livestock can occur where buttercup Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Beltsville Area. Retrieved 8 January 2008. 1911. 1911. 1912. 1911. 1910. 1912. 1913. 1915.