Ranunculus

Ranunculus Temporal range: Late Eocene–present PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Eschscholtz's buttercup (Ranunculus eschscholtzii)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Order:	Ranunculales
Family:	Ranunculaceae
Subfamily:	Ranunculoideae
Tribe:	Ranunculeae
Genus:	Ranunculus L.
Diversity
About 1,700 species
Synonyms[1][2]
Aphanostemma A.St.-Hil. Batrachium (DC.) Gray Beckwithia Jeps. Ceratocephala Moench. Glossophyllum Fourr. Kumlienia Greene Laccopetalum Ulbr. Myosurus L.

Ranunculus /ræˈnʌŋkjʊləs/^[3] is a large genus of about 1700 to more than 1800 species^[1][2] of flowering plants in the family Ranunculaceae. Members of the genus are known as buttercups, spearworts and water crowfoots.

The genus is distributed worldwide, primarily in temperate and montane regions.^[2] The familiar and widespread buttercup of gardens throughout Northern Europe (and introduced elsewhere) is the creeping buttercup Ranunculus repens, which has extremely tough and tenacious roots. Two other species are also widespread, the bulbous buttercup Ranunculus bulbosus and the much taller meadow buttercup Ranunculus acris. In ornamental gardens, all three are often regarded as weeds.

Buttercups usually flower in the spring, but flowers may be found throughout the summer, especially where the plants are growing as opportunistic colonizers, as in the case of garden weeds.

The water crowfoots (Ranunculus subgenus Batrachium), which grow in still or running water, are sometimes treated in a separate genus Batrachium (from Greek βάτραχος bátrakhos, "frog"). They have two different leaf types, thread-like leaves underwater and broader floating leaves. In some species, such as R. aquatilis, a third, intermediate leaf type occurs.

Ranunculus species are used as food by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including the Hebrew character and small angle shades. Some species are popular ornamental flowers in horticulture, with many cultivars selected for large and brightly coloured flowers.