Buttercup facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Buttercup |
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| Creeping buttercup (Ranunculus repens) | |
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Ranunculus
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Buttercups are a group of flowering plants known for their bright, shiny yellow petals. They belong to a large plant family called Ranunculus. You can find them growing wild in many places. It's important to know that fresh buttercups are poisonous if eaten by humans or cattle. However, once the plant is dry, the poison is no longer active.
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Discover Different Types of Buttercups
There are many different kinds of buttercups, with about 200 to 600 species in this plant group! Most of them have yellow flowers, but some can have white ones. These various types are all part of the Ranunculus genus.
Some common types of buttercups you might see include:
- Meadow Buttercup (Ranunculus acris)
- Goldilocks Buttercup (R. auricomus)
- Creeping Buttercup (R. repens)
- Large White Buttercup (R. platanafolius)
- Celery-leaved Buttercup (R. sceleratus)
- Corn Buttercup (R. arvensis)
- Bulbous Buttercup (R. bulbosus)
- Glacial Buttercup (R. glacialis)
Other plants that are also part of the buttercup family are Lesser Celandine (R. ficaria), Lesser Spearwort (R. flammula), and Greater Spearwort (R. lingua).
Most buttercup plants can be recognized by their yellow, cup-shaped flowers. They often grow freely, sometimes climbing or spreading out. Their leaves are usually arranged in a spiral pattern.
Buttercups in Fun Facts and Stories
Have you ever played the game where someone holds a buttercup under your chin? If a yellow glow appears on your skin, it means you "like butter"! This fun tradition shows how shiny the petals of a buttercup are, reflecting light like a mirror.
The name "buttercup" has also inspired other things:
- A type of pumpkin is called a buttercup squash.
- "Buttercup" is sometimes used as a girl's name.
Buttercups have also appeared in pop culture:
- "Build Me Up Buttercup" was a popular song by The Foundations in the 1960s.
- Jack Stauber released a song simply called "Buttercup" in 2017.
- A cartoon character from the TV show The Powerpuff Girls is named Buttercup.
- In the PC game Undertale, buttercups and their poisonous nature are part of the story.
Images for kids
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Glacier buttercup Ranunculus glacialis
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Sagebrush buttercup (Ranunculus glaberrimus)
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Creeping buttercup (Ranunculus repens)
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Ranunculus asiaticus, a cultivated form
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Seed head of Ranunculus showing developing achenes
See also
In Spanish: Ranunculus para niños
