BUTTERCUT
Alpine buttercut
Family : Ranunculaceae
Category : perennial
Height : 5 to 15 cm
Color : white
Flowering : June to September
Habitat : between 1500 and 2800 m
Protection : yes
Toxicity : yes
Frequency : frequent only in the Northern Alps
DESCRIPTION
Herbaceous plant from 5 to 15 cm high. Basal leaves shiny on top, almost round, but deeply indented in 3 to 5 segments on the edge and roughly crenellated. Flowers up to 2.5 cm in diameter appear solitary at the end of the striated stem or the few lateral branches. The 5 incised white petals rounded at the front surround many yellow stamens.
HISTORY
The buttercut takes its name from the Latin ranunculus which means "little frog": does it owe it to the green colour of its leaves or the rounded shape of its flowers? Not at all. The genus name means small frog because some species live in marshy places.
HABITAT
Plant scattered in the northern limestone Alps, rare in the central and southern limestone Alps; small valleys with long snow cover, open lawns, rock cracks; on humid limestone soils; between 1500 and 2800 m altitude.
PARTICULARITIES
The rounded leaves, deeply indented on the edge, are a characteristic of this buttercup species.
THREAT
This flower is protected, do not pick it ! Moreover, it is very toxic.
buttercut glaciers
Family : Ranunculaceae
Category : perennial
Height : 5 to 20 cm
Color : white
Flowering : July to August
Habitat : between 1600 and 4000 m
Protection : yes
Toxicity : yes
Frequency : frequent
DESCRIPTION
Herbaceous plant 5 to 20 cm high with creeping to erect stems that are generally hairless, but sometimes hairy. Fleshy basal leaves divided into palm-shaped leaves composed of 3 deeply indented leaflets. Stem leaves less deeply divided and solitary leaflets often thinner. At the end of the stem, a single solitary white flower, up to 3 cm in diameter, with many stamens.
HISTORY
The buttercup takes its name from the Latin ranunculus, which means "little frog": does it owe it to the green colour of its leaves or the rounded shape of its flowers? Not at all. The genus name means small frog because some species live in marshy places.
HABITAT
Scattered in the central Alps; cracks and scree from rocks, moraines; on low-grade stony limestone soils; between 1600 and 4000 m above sea level.
PARTICULARITIES
The white flowers turn pink as they age. Of all the flowering plants in the Alps, this species has the highest altitude record: it was found on the Finsteraarhorn in Switzerland at an altitude of 4274 m. It can grow very close to eternal snow.
THREAT
This flower is protected, do not pick it ! Moreover, it is very toxic.