Bristly Buttercup (Ranunculus hispidus)


     This perennial, native wildflower can get up to a foot tall. The one in the photo was a few inches tall. It produces solitary flowers on long hairy stalks. These flowers are about ¾ to one inch across, consisting of  five shiny yellow petals. The stems are light green and more or less covered with long spreading hairs. The leaf blades are usually trifoliate. The leaflets are up to four inches long and usually cleft into three lobes. Swamp Buttercups grow in moist places such as stream banks and swampy areas. (LS)