Latest Ranunculus Stories

A plant disease normally found in subarctic climates has been identified for the first time in the UK in buttercups as far south as Herefordshire. Sclerotinia subarctica, a fungus known to affect both crops and wild plants, has also been found in carrots and meadow buttercups in Perthshire by plant scientists at the Warwick Crop Centre in the School of Life Sciences at the University of Warwick. It is closely related to Sclerotinia sclerotiorum which commonly causes disease in crop...

As a child, did you ever shine a buttercup flower under your chin and witness a yellow glow to test whether you or your friends like butter? Well scientists have taken a closer look to better understand how this works and discovered the distinctive glossiness of the buttercup flower is related to its unique anatomical structure, according to a study published in the Royal Society journal Interface. The bright and glossy appearance of the buttercup petals is the result of the interplay...

New research sheds light on children’s game and provides insight into pollination Scientists have found that the distinctive glossiness of the buttercup flower (Ranunculus repens), which children like to shine under the chin to test whether their friends like butter, is related to its unique anatomical structure. Their findings were published today, 14 December, in the Royal Society journal Interface. The researchers discovered that the buttercup petal's unique bright and glossy...