Corn Buttercup (Ranunculus arvensis) is a relative of the more common buttercups, although the flowers of Corn Buttercup produce a more subtle shade of yellow.
Corn Buttercup is a smaller relative of the more common buttercups, it reaches a height of 50 cm and has deeply cut stem leaves and small lemon coloured flowers. The most distinctive feature of this flower is its prickly seeds which are unlike any of the others in the Buttercup group. They can reach as large as 1cm in length and covered in up to 2mm long spines.
This plant is in flower from early May though to late June and is restricted to arable land where it can grow in loamy, sand, chalk and heavy clay soils.
This plant is calssed as ‘Critically Endangered’ and is facing extinction in the wild. This is possibly down to the intese increase in farming with the key factors being the improved cleaning of the seeds from arable crops, combined with the use of a wider range of herbicides.
Height: 25 – 50cm
Flowering Time: April – July
Preferred Conditions: Damp moist bare ground that is non acidic.