Why is this fascinating flower blooming in such abundance? According to ecologist John Crewe, Bournemouth Wildlife Survey Project Lead, the news is mostly good.
“People have stopped using so much herbicide indiscriminately everywhere, and municipalities don’t seem to be spending as much time and money mowing roadsides and vacant lots. They’re leaving it alone and allowing habitat to grow, which benefits not only the buttercups but many other flowers.”
Most British children have had a buttercup placed under their chin in the traditional “test” to see if they like butter.
But ranunculus, the Latin name for buttercup, has a darker folklore attached to it than those innocent-looking golden flowers.
According to legend, Ranunculus was a boy who lived a long time ago and was always dressed from head to toe in gold and green silk.
He spent his days running around the trees of the forest singing in a beautiful, clear, high-pitched voice. And he never stopped. The forest spirits realized that this was disturbing the peace of the forest and all its creatures, so they transformed him into a buttercup and sent him off to live in the open grasslands. And peace and harmony were restored.
In the Pacific region of North America, the buttercup is known as coyote’s eye. Legend has it that a coyote threw his eye into the air and was trying to catch it when an eagle snatched it away. The coyote, blinded, then fashioned a new eye from the buttercup.
In Sardinia, it is said that any foolish person who eats Ranunculus sardonicus will develop a twisted smile on their face and may subsequently die, which is thought to be the origin of the expression “sardonic smile”.
Although buttercup is a name often given to pet cows, no sensible cow will devour fresh buttercup because of the irritating and toxic nature of the sap.
Although the buttercup was said to have no medicinal properties, unusual for a plant, it was claimed that medieval beggars would rub its pungent sap into their skin to create wounds in order to gain more sympathy and money.
However, the plant is highly valued in the world of flower essences, a complementary therapy that uses the vibrational essences of flowers to restore personality imbalances.
According to the FES Quintessentials Flower Essence organization, imbalances such as low self-worth and an inability to acknowledge and experience one’s inner light and uniqueness can be alleviated by ingesting Buttercup Essence.
And despite its darker side, who wouldn’t be cheered by the sight of a field of dancing buttercups?
