Tag: Ranunculus

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Herbs & Plants

Bulbous Buttercup

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Botanical Name :Ranunculus bulbosus
Family: Ranunculaceae
Genus: Ranunculus
Species: R. bulbosus
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Ranunculales

Common Names: Bulbous Buttercup,St Anthony’s turnip

Habitat :The native range of Bulbous Buttercup is Western Europe between about 60oN and the Northern Mediterranean coast. It grows in both the eastern and western parts of North America as an introduced weed Bulbous buttercup grows in lawns, pastures and fields in general, preferring nutrient-poor, well-drained soils. Although it doesn’t generally grow in proper crops or improved grassland, it is often found in hay fields  and in coastal grassland.

Description:
Bulbous Buttercup  is a perennial weed of the Buttercup Family. It has attractive yellow flowers, and deeply divided, three-lobed long-petioled basal leaves. Bulbous buttercup is known to form tufts.

click to see the pictures….>...(01)....(1)………(2).……..(3)...
The stems are 20-60 cm tall, erect, branching, and slightly hairy flowering.  There are alternate and sessile leaves on the stem. The flower forms at the apex of the stems, and is shiny and yellow with 5-7 petals. The flowers are 1.5-3 cm wide. The plant blooms from April to July.

Chemical constituents:
This plant, like other buttercups, contains the toxic glycoside ranunculin. It is avoided by livestock when fresh, but when the plant dries the toxin is lost, so hay containing the plant is safe for animal consumption.

Medicinal Uses:
In spite of its toxic nature, this plant is listed as an herbal remedy used in homeopathy for subepidermal blistering of the skin, especially in summer

The root has been placed in a tooth cavity to act as a painkiller.  A decoction of the plant has been used in the treatment of venereal disease.  It is directly applied to remove warts.  The juice is topically applied to rheumatic and gouty joints to relieve these conditions.  A tincture may be both externally applied and taken internally to treat shingles and sciatica

Disclaimer:
The information presented herein is intended for educational purposes only. Individual results may vary, and before using any supplements, it is always advisable to consult with your own health care provider.

Resources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ranunculus_bulbosus
http://www.herbnet.com/Herb%20Uses_AB.htm
http://luirig.altervista.org/schedeit/pz/ranunculus_bulbosus.htm

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Herbs & Plants

Ranunculus pennsylvanicus

Botanical Name : Ranunculus pennsylvanicus
Family: Ranunculaceae
Genus: Ranunculus
Species: R. pensylvanicus
Kingdom: Plantae
Order: Ranunculales

Synonyms : Ranunculus pensylvanicus

Common Names:Pennsylvania Buttercup, Bristly Buttercup,Bristly Crowfoot

Habitat : Ranunculus pennsylvanicus   is native to Northern N. America – Labrador to Alaska and south to Colorado. It grows  in  the   wet meadows, alluvium, ditches etc. Stream banks, bogs, moist clearings, depressions in woodlands from sea level to 1700 metres

Description:
Ranunculus pennsylvanicus is an    annual/perennial   herbs, or woody climbers  growing to 1 m (3ft 3in) with acrid  sap.  Leaves usually alternate, sometimes opposite; simple or compound, with clasping or dilated base; stipules none. Flowers    hypogynous, actinomorphic or sometimes zygomorphic, bisporangiate or occasionally monosporangiate; perianth of similar
segments or differentiated into calyx and corolla; capels usually  separate; stamens numerous. Fruit an achene, follicle or berry. It is in flower from Jun to August. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Insects.

CLICK &  SEE  THE  PICTURES

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils.The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils..It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade.It requires moist or wet soil.

Cultivation:
We have very little information on this species and do not know if it will be hardy in Britain, though judging by its native range it should succeed outdoors in most areas of the country. The following notes are based on the general needs of the genus. Prefers a moist loamy soil. A greedy plant, inhibiting the growth of nearby plants, especially legumes.

Propagation :
Seed – sow spring in a cold frame. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and plant them out in the summer.

Edible Uses: Leaves – cooked. The leaves contain toxins but in too low a concentration to be harmful.

Medicinal Uses:The plant is rubefacient. It is used to raise blisters

Other Uses :
The entire plant can be boiled to yield a red dye. It is mixed with the bark of bur oak (Quercus macrocarpa) which acts to fix the colour. The entire plant can be boiled with rushes (Juncus spp) or flags (Iris spp and Acorus calamus) to colour them yellow for use in making mats, baskets etc.

Known Hazards : Although no specific record of toxicity has been found for this plant, many if not all members of this genus are poisonous. These toxins can be destroyed by heat or by drying. Many if not all plants in this genus also have a strongly acrid juice that can cause blistering to the skin.

Disclaimer:
The information presented herein is intended for educational purposes only. Individual results may vary, and before using any supplements, it is always advisable to consult with your own health care provider.

Resources:
https://www.kb.osu.edu/dspace/bitstream/handle/1811/1936/V17N04_106.pdf?sequence=1
http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Ranunculus%20pennsylvanicus
http://www.herbnet.com/Herb%20Uses_AB.htm
http://www.wnmu.edu/academic/nspages/gilaflora/ranunculus_pennsylvanicus.html

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Herbs & Plants

Globe Flower

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Botanical Name: Trollius Europaeus
Family: Ranunculaceae
Genus: Trollius
Species: T. europaeus
Kingdom: Plantae
Order: Ranunculales
Synonyms: Globe Trollius. Boule d’Or. European Globe Flower. Globe Ranunculus. Globe Crowfoot. Lucken-Gowans.
Parts Used: The whole plant, fresh.
Habitat: It grows in damp ground in shady areas, woodland and scrub. Northern and Central Europe, from the Caucasus and Siberia to Wales and sometimes Ireland. Found wild in northern counties of England and in Scotland.

Description: The plant grows usually in moist woods and mountain pastures, and is about 2 feet high, the stalk being hollow, smooth, and branching towards the top, each branch bearing one yellow flower without a calix, shaped like that of Crowfoot. The leaves are beautifully cut into five, indented sections. It is a favourite bloom for rustic festivals, and early in June collections of it are made by youths and maidens to decorate cottage doors.
It has a tall, 60 cm flower with a bright yellow, globe-shaped head. Flowering between June and August. A native of Europe and Western Asia. It’s slightly poisonous and is purgative and rubefacient when used fresh.
It is often cultivated as a border flower, as are the other two species of the genus.

...CLICK TO SEE THE PICTURES

The Globe Flower is a glorified Buttercup; its leaves and flowers resemble the Buttercup in form but are larger. Improved varieties have orange, gold, orange-red and lemon-colored flowers, often double. The commonest species is Trollius europwus, but while all the catalogued species resemble each other in form, the seasons and the colors of the flowers differ. They grow about l feet tall and bloom throughout the Summer, starting in late May.

Utilize: The Globe Flower flourishes, both in sun and shade, and is especially at home in borders in which the soil is a trifle too damp for other plants. They are showy border plants, their neat habit and compact flowers commend them to all. We must add that they grow nicely in the ordinary garden soil, even though it be away from the waterside.

Propagation:Although usually propagated from seeds, the plants are tardy in coming into bloom. Old plants may also be divided.

Constituents: The Swedish naturalist Peter Kalm affirms that these plants have medicinal properties, but lose the greater part of their active principles in drying. The irritant, acrid principle is not well defined, and appears to be destroyed by the action of heat.

Medicinal Action and Uses: It is stated that Trollius is used in Russia in certain obscure maladies, while another authority claims that it has cured a scorbutic case declared incurable by doctors. It is a plant to be investigated.

Other Species:
T. Asiaticus, or Asiatic Globe Flower. The leaves of this species are larger than in the European plant, resembling those of Yellow Monk’s Hood, although the stature of T. Asiaticus is less. The flowers are an orangetinged yellow. It is a native of Siberia, but can be grown in any garden with shade and a moist soil.

T. Laxus is yellow, and grows in shady, wet places on the mountains of New York and Pennsylvania.

Click to see also:->
CROWFOOT, CELERY-LEAVED
CROWFOOT, UPRIGHT MEADOW

Disclaimer:
The information presented herein is intended for educational purposes only. Individual results may vary, and before using any supplements, it is always advisable to consult with your own health care provider

Resources:
http://botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/g/globef20.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Globe-flower
http://www.backyardgardener.com/pren/pg105.html

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