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Ranunculus arvensis - L.

Common Name Corn Buttercup
Family Ranunculaceae
USDA hardiness Coming soon
Known Hazards All parts of the plant are poisonous when fresh, the toxins are destroyed by heat or by drying[4, 10, 19, 21, 65]. The plant also has a strongly acrid juice that can cause blistering to the skin[65, 183].
Habitats A weed of cornfields, especially on calcareous soils[17].
Range Europe, including Britain, from Norway south and east to N. Africa, W. Asia to the Himalayas.
Edibility Rating    (0 of 5)
Other Uses    (0 of 5)
Weed Potential Yes
Medicinal Rating    (1 of 5)
Care (info)
Moist Soil Semi-shade Full sun
Ranunculus arvensis Corn Buttercup


http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ranunculus_arvensis_Sturm54.jpg
Ranunculus arvensis Corn Buttercup
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Illustration_Ranunculus_arvensis0.jpg

 

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Summary


Physical Characteristics

 icon of manicon of flower
Ranunculus arvensis is a ANNUAL growing to 0.5 m (1ft 8in).
It is not frost tender. It is in flower from June to July, and the seeds ripen from July to August. The species is hermaphrodite (has both male and female organs) and is pollinated by Flies.
Suitable for: light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils. Suitable pH: mildly acid, neutral and basic (mildly alkaline) soils and can grow in very alkaline soils.
It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It prefers moist soil.

UK Hardiness Map US Hardiness Map

Synonyms

Plant Habitats

 Cultivated Beds;

Edible Uses

None known

References   More on Edible Uses

Medicinal Uses

Plants For A Future can not take any responsibility for any adverse effects from the use of plants. Always seek advice from a professional before using a plant medicinally.
Antiasthmatic  Antirheumatic  Febrifuge

The plant is used is used in the treatment of intermittent fevers, gout and asthma[240].

References   More on Medicinal Uses

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Other Uses

None known

Special Uses

References   More on Other Uses

Cultivation details

A weed of arable land, preferring calcareous soils[17]. A greedy plant, inhibiting the growth of nearby plants, especially legumes[54].

References   Carbon Farming Information and Carbon Sequestration Information

Temperature Converter

Type a value in the Celsius field to convert the value to Fahrenheit:

Fahrenheit:

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Plants For A Future have a number of books available in paperback and digital form. Book titles include Edible Plants, Edible Perennials, Edible Trees,Edible Shrubs, Woodland Gardening, and Temperate Food Forest Plants. Our new book is Food Forest Plants For Hotter Conditions (Tropical and Sub-Tropical).

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Plant Propagation

Seed - sow spring in situ. You are very unlikely to need to encourage this plant.

Other Names

If available other names are mentioned here

Native Range

TEMPERATE ASIA: Cyprus, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Lebanon, Syria, Turkey, Russian Federation-Ciscaucasia (Ciscaucasia), Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Russian Federation (Dagestan), Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan TROPICAL ASIA: India (Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh), Pakistan EUROPE: United Kingdom, Sweden (south), Austria, Belgium, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Hungary, Netherlands, Poland, Slovakia, Ukraine (incl. Krym), Albania, Bulgaria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Greece (incl. Crete), Croatia, Italy (incl. Sardinia, Sicily), North Macedonia, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, Spain (incl. Baleares), France (incl. Corsica), Portugal AFRICA: Algeria (north), Egypt (north), Morocco, Tunisia

Weed Potential

Right plant wrong place. We are currently updating this section. Please note that a plant may be invasive in one area but may not in your area so it’s worth checking.

Conservation Status

IUCN Red List of Threatened Plants Status :

Related Plants
Latin NameCommon NameHabitHeightHardinessGrowthSoilShadeMoistureEdibleMedicinalOther
Ranunculus acrisMeadow Buttercup, Tall buttercup, Showy buttercupPerennial1.0 0-0  LMHSNMWe120
Ranunculus aquatilisWater Crowfoot, White water crowfootAnnual/Perennial0.0 4-8  LMHSNMWeWa11 
Ranunculus bulbosusBulbous Buttercup, St. Anthony's turnipPerennial0.3 0-0 FLMHSNM120
Ranunculus californicusCalifornia ButtercupPerennial0.6 6-9  LMHSNM10 
Ranunculus chinensisHui Hui SuanPerennial0.6 -  LMHSNMWe10 
Ranunculus ficariaLesser Celandine - Pilewort, Fig buttercupPerennial0.2 0-0 FLMHSNM123
Ranunculus flammulaLesser Spearwort, Greater creeping spearwortPerennial0.6 4-8  LMHSNMWeWa01 
Ranunculus hirtus Perennial0.0 -  LMHSNM01 
Ranunculus inamoeusGraceful ButtercupPerennial0.3 -  LMHSNM10 
Ranunculus japonicusMao GenPerennial0.1 -  LMHSNM11 
Ranunculus kochii Perennial0.1 5-9  LMHNM10 
Ranunculus muricatusRough-Seed Buttercup, Spinyfruit buttercupAnnual0.3 0-0  LMHSNM01 
Ranunculus nipponicus Perennial0.0 -  LMHSNWeWa10 
Ranunculus occidentalisWestern ButtercupPerennial0.6 -  LMHSNM10 
Ranunculus pallasiiButtercup, Pallas' buttercupPerennial0.1 0-0  LMHSNMWe10 
Ranunculus pennsylvanicusPennsylvania ButtercupAnnual/Perennial1.0 -  LMHSNMWe112
Ranunculus quelpaertensis Perennial0.6 -  LMHSNMWe10 
Ranunculus repensCreeping Buttercup, Prairie Double-flowered Buttercup, Water Buttercup, Creeping ButtercupPerennial0.3 3-8 FLMHSNM110
Ranunculus reptansCreeping SpearwortPerennial0.2 - FLMHSNMWe10 
Ranunculus rivularis Perennial0.0 -  LMHSNM01 
Ranunculus sceleratusCelery-Leaved Buttercup, Cursed buttercupPerennial0.6 0-0  LMHSNMWeWa111
Ranunculus tachreoi Perennial1.0 -  LMHSNM10 
Ranunculus ternatus Perennial0.3 -  LMHSNM01 

Growth: S = slow M = medium F = fast. Soil: L = light (sandy) M = medium H = heavy (clay). pH: A = acid N = neutral B = basic (alkaline). Shade: F = full shade S = semi-shade N = no shade. Moisture: D = dry M = Moist We = wet Wa = water.

 

Expert comment

Author

L.

Botanical References

17

Links / References

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Readers comment

Will Messenger   Tue Jul 31 2007

Excellent, it is good to find that others are interested in this delightful weed. I have grown it as a weed in my vegetable garden for over 20 years and am looking at ways of distributing seed (ok fruits) as widely as possible.

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Subject : Ranunculus arvensis  
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