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Toxic☠️ To avoid

🌼 Meadow buttercup

Ranunculus acris · Ranunculaceae

🌳 Temperate Europe🍁 North America🏔️ Mountains
🧠 To remember it“Fresh it stings, dried it sleeps” — the same flower becomes harmless once dried in hay.
Meadow buttercup — Ranunculus acris

🔍 Identify it without mistakes

The classic meadow buttercup, featuring glossy bright yellow flowers well known to children. Its fresh sap contains a blistering substance that burns the mouth and skin. The toxicity almost entirely disappears upon drying (in hay), which explains why livestock avoid it in the pasture but can consume it safely once withered.

  1. shiny, waxy, bright yellow 5-petaled flower, typical of the entire Ranunculus genus
  2. deeply divided leaves with 3 to 7 toothed lobes
  3. erect, hairy stem branching towards the top
  4. slightly acrid and irritating sap when crushing fresh stems or leaves
Size30-80 cm
Floweringmai-septembre
Habitatmeadows, pastures, grassy roadsides, from coastal areas to mountains

⚠️ Not to be confused with

No common edible confusion (—)—

To tell them apart: the risk comes mainly from prolonged contact of fresh sap on the skin (holding a bouquet for a long time) or chewing out of curiosity; the plant loses its toxicity when dried into hay

Lesser celandine (Ranunculus ficaria)meadow buttercup is toxic year-round due to protoanemonin, unlike lesser celandine which only becomes toxic after flowering

To tell them apart: lesser celandine blooms much earlier (starting in February) with glossy 8-12 petaled flowers and fleshy, heart-shaped leaves; meadow buttercup blooms in summer with 5 petals and deeply lobed leaves

☠️ What kills

nomProtoanemonin (irritating derivative released from ranunculin by crushing fresh tissues)
dose letale estimeerarely dangerous for humans in accidental doses; toxicity mostly documented in livestock grazing on fresh pasture (approx., no human threshold established)
delaia few minutes for skin or oral irritation
symptomesburning and redness of skin or mouth upon prolonged contact with fresh sap, potential blistering, salivation and digestive irritation if ingested
antidoteno antidote needed; rinsing and symptomatic treatment are generally sufficient
morts documenteesnone in humans; severe poisoning cases are documented in livestock grazing heavily in pastures with a high density of fresh buttercups

First steps : Rinse skin or mouth thoroughly with clear water in case of prolonged contact or chewing. Call a poison control center if a large quantity is ingested by a young child. Do not let a child hold a tight bouquet of buttercups in their hand for long periods.

Sources (2)

No entry replaces a certain identification in the field, or medical advice. When in doubt: don't eat it. If ingestion is suspected: poison control or 112/911.