- Persian buttercup (Ranunculus asiaticus) grows up to 2 feet tall and adds a splash of color to any flower garden. Plant the bulbs in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 8 to 10.
- Mexican Smalti is the Material of the Masters! Hand poured and cut the way it’s been done for centuries. Elevate your mosaic art to new levels with our beautiful palette of over 200 colors.
With the COVID-19 government non-essential closure, Buttercup is now able to offer delivery, takeout and curbside pickup. Check out our email for updates and order online or by phone. Each one that fell sprouted into buttercup flowers. Another story is of a coyote who tossed his eyes into the air one morning, and an eagle swooped in and stole them. Not knowing what to do, the coyote made new eyes with buttercup flowers. This has resulted in buttercup flowers named “coyote’s eyes” in various parts of the U.S.
| Oenothera speciosa | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Myrtales |
| Family: | Onagraceae |
| Genus: | Oenothera |
| Species: | |
| Binomial name | |
| Oenothera speciosa Nutt.[1] | |
| Synonyms[2] | |
| |
Oenothera speciosa is a species of evening primrose known by several common names, including pinkladies, pink evening primrose, showy evening primrose, Mexican primrose, amapola, and buttercups (not to be confused with true buttercups in the genus Ranunculus).
Distribution[edit]
It is a herbaceous perennialwildflower. Originally native to the grasslands of Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, northeastern New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas,[3] it has been naturalized in 28 of the lower 48 U.S. states [4] as well as Chihuahua and Coahuila in Mexico. It frequently escapes from gardens. The specific name, speciosa, means 'showy'.
The plant's wild habitat includes rocky prairies, open woodlands, slopes, roadsides, meadows and disturbed areas. While it makes an attractive garden plant, care should be taken with it as it can become invasive, spreading by runners and seeds. This drought-resistant plant prefers loose, fast-draining soil and full sun.
Habit[edit]
The pink primrose has glabrous (smooth) to pubescent stems that grow to 50 cm (20 in) in height. The pubescent leaves are alternate with very short or no petiole (sessile), reaching 10 cm (4 in) long to 4 cm (11⁄2 in) broad. They are variable in shape, from linear to obovate, and are toothed or wavy-edged. It produces single, four-petaled, cup-shaped flowers on the upper leaf axils. These fragrant shell-pink flowers bloom throughout the summer into early autumn. The 11⁄2–2 in (4–5 cm) flowers start out white and grow pink as they age.
The flower throats, as well as the stigmas and stamens, have a soft yellow color. It blooms both day and night, but typically in the pre-dawn hours, closing when the full sun hits them. They bloom from March to July, and occasionally in the fall. The flowers are frequented by several species of insect, but moths are the most common as the flowers are mostly open at night.
This plant is also frequently referred to as a buttercup, though it is not a true buttercup (genus Ranunculus), or even in the buttercup family Ranunculaceae.
Varieties[edit]
- Varieties[2]
- Oenothera speciosa var. berlandieri(Spach) Munz
- Oenothera speciosa var. childsii(L.H. Bailey) Munz
- Oenothera speciosa var. speciosa
Usage[edit]
The pink evening primrose is used in the temperate latitudes as an ornamental plant. However, it does not survive a severe winter. It is a ground cover. With the USDA climates 4 to 9, the pink evening primrose in most areas of Central Europe should be sufficiently hardy. The green plant parts can be cooked or eaten as a salad; Harvest, if possible, before flowers develop, because then the taste is pleasant.[5]
Gallery[edit]
A Field of Buttercups or Pink primrose
Unopened flower buds.
pink primrose with bud and leaf
Pollen magnified 200x
References[edit]
| Wikimedia Commons has media related to Oenothera speciosa. |
| Wikispecies has information related to Oenothera speciosa. |
- ^'Oenothera speciosa'. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Agricultural Research Service (ARS), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Retrieved 28 October 2010.
- ^ ab'Oenothera speciosa Nutt.'. World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (WCSP). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 7 December 2014 – via The Plant List.
- ^'Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center - The University of Texas at Austin'. www.wildflower.org. Retrieved 3 May 2019.CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
- ^'Oenothera speciosa'. Natural Resources Conservation Service PLANTS Database. USDA. Retrieved September 4, 2010.CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
- ^Jelitto / Schacht / Feßler: The outdoor jewelry shrubs . Ulmer, Stuttgart 1985, ISBN3-8001-6156-7 .
- Tveten, Gloria; Tveten, John (1993). Wildflowers of Houston & Southeast Texas. Austin: University of Texas Press. ISBN978-0-292-78151-1.
- Tenaglia, Dan. 'Oenothera speciosa page'. Missouri Plants. Missouri Botanical Garden.
External links[edit]
- Oenothera speciosa in the CalPhotos Photo Database, University of California, Berkeley
Creeping buttercup, a King County Weed of Concern, is a low-growing perennial with creeping stolons that's found in rural and urban areas throughout King County, such as pastures, farmlands, natural wetlands, city gardens, and lawns. Stems reach one foot tall. Leaves are dark green with pale patches, divided into 3 toothed leaflets. Leaves and stems are both somewhat hairy. March-August, produces bright yellow, glossy flowers with usually 5 (up to 10) petals. Reproduces by seed and vegetatively via long, branching stolons that root at the nodes. Stolon growth starts in spring, peaks in late summer. This plant is extremely aggressive and toxic to grazing animals.
Legal status in King County, Washington
Creeping buttercup is not on the Washington State Noxious Weed List. However, in King County, this non-native invasive buttercup species is classified as a Weed of Concern. For more information see Noxious Weed Lists and Laws.
The King County Noxious Weed Control Board recommends the prevention of spread of this species to uninfested areas and its control in protected wilderness areas, natural lands that are being restored to native vegetation, and in pastures that are being grazed.
Identification
- Perennial with short swollen stems and creeping stolons that root at the nodes
- Can be distinguished from other buttercup species such as tall buttercup (Ranunculus acris) by the creeping stolons
- Can grow up to one foot tall but are often shorter in mowed areas
- Leaves are dark green with light patches and are divided into three toothed leaflets, the central leaflet on a stalk
- Pale patches on the leaves distinguish creeping buttercup from similar looking plants such as hardy geraniums
- Basal leaves have long petioles (stalks), leaves higher up the plant have shorter or no petioles
- Leaves and stems are somewhat hairy
- Flowers usually have five (sometimes ten) glossy, bright yellow petals and grow singly on long grooved stalks
- Bloom time is usually from March to August
- Fruits are clusters of 20-50 achenes on globe-shaped heads. Achenes have a short hooked beak and are light brown to blackish brown when mature with an unevenly pitted surface
Impacts
Creeping buttercup's competitive growth crowds out other plants, especially in wet soils. One plant can spread over a 40 square foot area in a year. Creeping buttercup also depletes potassium in the soil and so can have a detrimental effect on surrounding plants. Because creeping buttercup can tolerate heavy, wet soils, it can be a particularly bad problem on well-watered lawns, wet meadows and poorly drained pastures. In addition to invading wet grassy areas, creeping buttercup is reported as a weed of 11 crops in 40 countries.Fresh buttercup plants are toxic to grazing animals, who can suffer from salivation, skin irritation, blisters, abdominal distress, inflammation, and diarrhea. Fortunately, buttercup has a strong, bitter taste so animals generally try to avoid it if more palatable forage is available. Also, the toxin protoanemonin is not very stable and loses its potency when dry, so buttercup is not generally toxic in hay. Unfortunately, livestock occasionally develop a taste for buttercup and consume fatal quantities. It is safest to keep populations of buttercup under control on grazed pastures and offer plenty of healthy forage.
Growth and reproduction
Creeping buttercup spreads by seed and by long branching stolons that root at the nodes, forming new plants. In more established woodland and grassland communities, this plant increases mostly through stolons unless the soil is disturbed. In dry conditions, flowering and seeding is more prevalent and in wet conditions, stolons are more plentiful. Seeds can germinate and seedlings can grow under water-logged conditions.
One of the reasons creeping buttercup is so competitive is that its stolons respond to the environment. Under favorable conditions, plants form more stolons through branching. However, when nitrogen is limiting, stolons tend to be longer and unbranched allowing longer distance “sampling” of a number of potential sites until more suitable locations are found. When favorable conditions are discovered, stolon branching resumes, allowing rapid local colonization to take advantage of the available resources. In general, short stolons are produced in dense turf and much longer ones appear in open fields or woodlands.Depending on the temperature, creeping buttercup either overwinters as a rosette or dies back to ground level. In either case, the nutrients stored in the short swollen stem produce rapid growth in spring, between April and June. Stolons grow from the leaf axils in spring and summer and growth peaks in late summer. Stolons connecting parent and daughter plants usually die off in fall.
Flowers can appear from March to August with seeds soon after. Each plant produces from about 20 to 150 seeds. Seeds can remain viable in the soil for at least 20 years, and up to 80 years, especially under acid or water-logged conditions. Seeds are dispersed by wind, water, birds, farm animals, rodents, and other animals by adhering to them with the hooked seeds.
Creeping buttercup grows particularly well in moist or poorly drained situations, although it will also colonize sandy and gravel-based soils with sufficient moisture. Creeping buttercup also has some tolerance to salinity and is found along beaches, salt marshes and the margins of tidal estuaries. In woodlands, this buttercup is mainly restricted to clearings, forest margins and paths. It is frost tolerant and will survive moderate droughts. Creeping buttercup is tolerant of trampling, compacted soils, and grazing.Turnera Ulmifolia Care
Control
Be sure to have a long-term plan to ensure success, protect native and beneficial species while doing the control, and start in the least infested areas first and then move into the more heavily infested areas.Prevention and cultural control
- In lawns and pastures, promote healthy grass by overseeding, fertilizing as needed, and not over-grazing. Adding lime can improve grass health and keep buttercup from re-establishing. However, lime won’t control buttercup that is already well-established.
- It also helps to improve soil drainage. Reduce compaction by aerating and avoid trampling when soils are wet.
- Clean mowers and other equipment to avoid spreading buttercup seeds to un-infested areas.
Manual
- Dig out with a sharp trowel or fork-type tool, removing all of the runners, roots and growing points. Digging is most effective from fall to spring while the soil is moist and roots won’t break off as much.
- Cultivating or incomplete digging may increase the buttercup population because it can sprout from nodes along stem and root fragments.
- Disturbance of the soil can increase seed germination. Seeds stay viable for 20 years or more and the number of seeds in infested soils can be immense compared to the number of plants present, especially in long-term pastures and woodland ecosystems.
Mechanical
- Creeping buttercup’s growing point is at soil level, so plants resist mowing and quickly re-sprout when cut.
- Regular cultivation can kill the buttercup but plants buried by cultivation can grow back up through deep soil and re-establish themselves and long-lived seeds in the soil can germinate and re-infest the area once cultivation ceases.
Chemical
- Herbicides can be used if allowed and appropriate for the site and land use. Follow all label directions to ensure safe and effective use.
- Glyphosate (e.g. Roundup, Aquamaster) can be applied to actively growing plants before they seed. Keep spray off of grass and other plants. Re-seed or re-plant bare areas after removing buttercup to keep it from re-infesting the area.
- Broadleaf herbicides can be applied over grassy areas infested with creeping buttercup to selectively kill the buttercup and not the grass. Products containing the active ingredient MCPA are most effective on buttercup. Metsulfuron (Escort, Ally) is also effective but can harm some grasses. Follow label directions on timing and rates.
- It will probably take at least two or three applications to eradicate creeping buttercup because of the seed bank and because some mature plants will generally recover.
- Monitor the treated area for re-growth and pull up any new seedlings before they establish runners.
Additional information on creeping buttercup (Ranunculus repens)
- Oregon State University Extension Bulletin (external link)
- Photos and Distribution from the University of Washington Burke Museum (external link)
- Alaska Natural Heritage Program (external link)
- USDA-NRCS Plants Database (external link)
- Down Garden Services : Creeping Buttercup Control (external link)
What to do if you find this plant in King County, Washington
Because creeping buttercup is so widespread, property owners in King County are not required to control it and we are not generally tracking infestations. We can provide advice on how to control creeping buttercup, but there is generally no legal requirement to do so.How To Get Rid Of Buttercup Plants
Creeping buttercup photos