Consider-the-Lilies Web Gallery
Buttercup
The brilliant lemon-yellow blossoms of this import from Europe—along with dandelion, in Massachusetts where I was raised—have been placed under a child's chin "to see if you like butter?" for who knows how far back?
There are several varieties of Buttercup to be found in the Shenandoah Valley. The two displayed on this page—Bulbous and Common—seem to be the most numerous.
The Bulbous Buttercup, above, first appears in April and will beautify pastures and meadows until well into May. It carries the bulbous prefix because it has an enlarged root, not a true bulb, that provides a source of nutrition, allowing to produce its golden blossoms before its cousins in the Ranunculus genus each spring.
The Common orTall Buttercup (right) makes its entrance in May and will still be gracing the Valley well into September.
Growing as tall as thirty-six inches, it is much taller than the Bulbous, which doesn't exceed eighteen inches.
And although both are a golden yellow, and present the distinctive cup-shaped blossom formed by their delicate petals, there are a couple of other differences:
As you might have noticed in the top image, the sepals (outer protective coverings of the unopened blossom) of the Bulbous variety are folded back around the blossom stem when the flower opens.
In addition, the Common variety (above) retains some green in the center of the opened blossom, while the Bulbous type (right) is totally yellow.
Although Buttercup, as a genus, do beautify Valley fields from April to September, they also pose a danger of poisoning if eaten by humans and some livestock.
These plants, however, are not poisonous to swine.
Indeed, it is reported that free-range pigs will travel far to make a tasty snack of these golden lilies!
Besides being poisonous if ingested, these and some other members of the genus Ranunculus are also capable of causing a skin rash and even blisters if the sap is applied to the skin.
Fortunately, neither I nor my playmates were sensitive to this plant when we performed our little test!
A historical comment I found interesting: One commentator noted that "beggars of Europe sometimes use [plants in this genus] to keep open sores for the purpose of exciting sympathy."
So, unless one wants to be found "exciting sympathy," one should look and not touch—at least not much!—and, of course, do not eat, either!
Go to the Main Directory to consider more lilies of the field.