More Morton Magic #11: Fields of Gold
This is the 11th of a 17-cache series which will take you on a wonderful 6km looping trail up the deep Morton valley through Sunnydale and The Glen passing historical farm and residential buildings, industrial ruins, mill ponds and weirs, rich deciduous and pine woodlands, a reservoir, waterfall, low moorland, farm fields and then back down an old track and flower-festooned path into the village.
The cache, a small screw-capped, camo-taped plastic pot is hidden at the northern edge of The Glen, where the woodland finishes and farmland (across/to the west) and moorland (above/to the north) begin.
After passing beneath some of the largest plant specimens in the area, now - back out into open country - it is time to focus closer to ground level on some of the smaller ones . . .
From April-October looking from GZ into the adjacent meadow, and also in most nearby fields, you should see large patches or even a 'sea' of yellow . . . buttercups! Growing in a meadow, they produce a sheen of bright yellow, creating a typical summer scene . . . (natural) fields of gold (see short blog here). Other summer fields of gold are those of rape or canola cultivated widely for vegetable oil. The 'Fields of Gold' of Sting's popular song are fields of ripe barley.
The meadow (common, tall, giant) buttercup (Ranunculus acris) is a species of flowering plant in the over 2,000 species, 43 genera family Ranunculaceae, and one of the more common buttercups across Europe and temperate Eurasia. Local names include Blister-plant (Lincs.), Butter-bump/Butter-rose, Crazy-bet, Creesy-cressy (Glos.), Crow-flower, King’s-cob, and Gowan (Scot.).
It is a herbaceous perennial plant that grows to a height of 30-70cm, with ungrooved flowing stems bearing glossy yellow flowers about 25mm across. There are five overlapping petals borne above five green sepals that soon turn yellow as the flower matures. It has numerous stamens inserted below the ovary. The leaves are compound, with three-lobed leaflets. Like other members of the genus, the numerous seeds are borne as achenes.
It is poisonous if ingested by livestock, causing inflammation of the throat and gut. However, grazing animals will usually and instinctively avoid it if other food is available. However, by eating everything else around it they clear the land and help the plant spread.
It is native to Eurasia, but has been introduced across much of the world so that it now has a circumpolar distribution. It is a naturalized species and often regarded as a weed in parts of North America, but probably native in Alaska and Greenland.
In New Zealand it is a serious pasture weed costing the dairy industry hundreds of millions of dollars. It has become one of the few pasture weeds that has developed a resistance to herbicides.
In horticulture the species it may be regarded as a troublesome weed, colonising lawns and paths. However, it may be a welcome feature of wildflower meadows. The double-flowered cultivar R. acris 'Flore Pleno' has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit. Several other beautiful cultivars are available as a decorative garden plant - ie. non-'weed' varieties!
Toxicity: oils, probably present in the leaves and stems, can cause abdominal pains if consumed. When eaten by animals, the buttercups have caused diarrhea and blindness.
It is used by Native Americans to treat a large variety of conditions.
For more info on this common, colourful flower, see here.
For short buttercup videos see here and here and for a short N Yorks blog, see here.
