Iowa Wildflowers : Buttercup - when it flowers, it's habitat, and some historical uses

The Buttercup is a plant that grows in moist to wet areas, blooming April through September, depending on the species, of which there are many. It has single 1-inch wide, 5 (sometimes 7) yellow-petaled flowers that grow from the end of a stalk. The plant is native to cold temperate regions throughout the United States and Europe.

This plant is considered poisonous.

From the book Wildflowers of Iowa's Woodlands :

"Some tribes of Indians pulverized buttercup roots, soaked the pulp in warm water, and used the resulting liquid as a wash for open wounds. Canadian Indians inhaled the vapor of crushed leaves of one species to cure headache. A preparation of the roots was also used to stop persistent nosebleed. One unspecified species of buttercup was used by the ancients to poison arrow tips. Another was supposed to cure lunacy, if applied to the neck during the wane of the moon provided the moon was in the sign of the bull or the scorpion.

Pliny the elder, ancient Roman naturalist and writer (12-79 A.D.), is reported to have written that the buttercup "stirs him who eats it into gales of laughter. In fact, he may guffaw his way into the next world in a most unseemly manner - unless he washes the buttercup down with pineapple (?) kernels and pepper."

From the book Indian Herbalogy of North America :

"The beggars used to use it to produce and keep open sores to excite sympathy."

So, this is a nice flower to see along the trail when out mushroom hunting or fishing in the spring, but stay away from finding any uses for it.

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Books used in this post (will open in a new window) :

Wildflowers of Iowa Woodlands by Sylvan T. Runkel and Alvin F. Bull

Indian Herbalogy of North America by Alma R. Hutchens