A poisonous buttercup plant
the Buttercup is the most common member of the buttercup family, also known as Ranunculaceae. Like all other plants within this family, buttercups are filled with toxins.
also read
- Plant and care for buttercups
- Buttercup: What is the meaning of your name?
- Buttercup and Dandelion: One and the Same?
Two toxins and their effects on the body
In addition to the active ingredient called ranunculin, which is found in all buttercups, it is the substance called protoanemonin that makes buttercups so toxic. The roots in particular are full to the brim with this ingredient, which turns into poisonous anemonic acid when it dries.
Who fresh buttercups eats (You would hardly get the idea to eat more of it due to the unpleasantly pungent taste), you have to reckon with symptoms even with small amounts poisoning to express. These include, among others:
- Burning sensation in the mouth and throat
- diarrhea
- nausea
- Vomit
- dizziness
- Paralysis
There you will find the buttercup!
This plant from the buttercup family can be found on moist meadows, on the edges of forests, in bushes, on roadsides and wherever the earth is nitrogen-rich and calcareous. It is at home from Europe to Asia and even North America. Their main area of distribution is the Central European region. It can thrive up to heights of 2,300 m.
Essential characteristics by which you can recognize them
You can use these characteristics to identify the buttercup:
- Blooms in late spring
- bare stems and leaves
- angular incised-sawn basal leaves
- perennial herb
- 20 to 100 cm high
- Leaves are reminiscent of buttercups
- round stems
- alternate leaf arrangement
- up to 3 cm wide, golden yellow flowers
- The flower color is shiny and greasy
- green nuts from July to October
Tips
Also the Dandelions are called buttercups designated. Buttercup is a popular popular name for him, especially in southern Germany. But in contrast to the sharp buttercup, it is not poisonous.