Ranunculus Is a Toxic Beauty With a Doozy of a Name

"The multicolored, Persian buttercups are what most people associate with the name ranunculus. These are undeniably beautiful and know it," Bennett says.

The genus Ranunculus includes hundreds of varieties of flowering annual and herbaceous perennial plants. A member of the ranunculaceae family, it sports the common names buttercup and Persian buttercup (Ranunculus asiaticus).

Available year-round in a rainbow of colors, most contemporary florists and top shelf designers routinely use cultivars of Ranunculus asiaticus. It's among the most commonly purchased blooms in the cut flower market, featuring such popular hybrid strains as, 'Aviv,' Telecote,' 'Telecote Red,' 'Flamenco,' 'Bloomingdale' and 'Victoria,' among many others.

A buxom, cool-weather beauty, Ranunculus asiaticus has voluminous painterly blooms and delicate ruffled petals that look like crepe paper origami, making them a beautiful choice for wedding bouquets.

As fresh-cut flowers, it has a long and happy vase life of up to seven days. Think spectacular centerpieces with other spring flowers.

All ranunculus species are poisonous to both animals and humans. If crushed or brushed, the leaves of buttercups release a compound called ranunculin that breaks down into protoanemonin, an acrid, toxic oil.

Contact with protoanemonin will mess you up in a dermatitis kind of way, causing burning and itching with accompanying rash and blisters.

If humans or beasts chew the leaves, blisters may form on the lips and face. The toxic oil is also a serious eye irritant. Swallow some buttercups and you'll find yourself in a world of hurt, including but not limited to symptoms like abdominal pain, diarrhea and vomiting, dizziness and even paralysis.

While buttercups vary in levels of toxicity, individual ranunculus plants are at their most toxic in early spring when they're alive and flowering. Dead and dried plants are generally considered safe.

Other Types of Ranunculus Flowers

The most pernicious culprits in North America include tall buttercup (Ranunculus acris), creeping buttercup (Ranunculus repens) and cursed buttercup (Ranunculus sceleratus), to name a few. Bulbous buttercup (Ranunculus bulbosus), a potential famine food, has bulbous roots that are caustic when fresh, but you can eat them if dried or boiled.

Past Uses for Ranunculus

Native Americans used the dried ranunculus plant in herbal poultices to treat muscle aches and pains and to remove warts. The Italian naturalist, Pliny the Elder, wrote about the beneficial uses of ranunculus in "The Natural History of Wild Plants" way back in 77 B.C.E

The answer to that question depends entirely upon where you live. A tuberous rooted plant, ranunculus is winter hardy, or perennial, in USDA Plant Hardiness Zones 8 to 10. Gardeners in these regions should grow ranunculus in the fall to yield spring flowers.

Considered an annual in colder Zones like 4 to 7, ranunculus won't survive the winter outdoors. A spring planting will result in late summer ranunculus blooms. For those that don't live in warm climates, growing ranunculus indoors can the plant a better chance of thriving.

"Ranunculus prefers sunny, very well-drained soil in an area that isn't too hot but isn't too cold, and they do not like humidity," Bennett explains. "Many gardeners grow them as potted annuals."

Magnificent to behold, the brilliant-colored ranunculus makes a really big tadoo as a spring container garden plant. It can flower for up to five weeks, with individual blooms lasting from three to seven days in cooler climes.

In floriography, a ranunculus bloom symbolizes attraction and charm. They're also highly prized by floral artisans as the perfect flower to decorate with or give as bedazzling tokens of your love and admiration on special occasions like weddings and anniversaries.

Also associated with childishness and cheerfulness, the dear little buttercup makes a pretty funny muse for a song too.