Buttercup, Bulbous

Information on Bulbous Buttercup

Common Name: Bulbous Buttercup
Scientific Name: Ranunculus bulbosus
Irish Name: Tuile thalún
Family Group: Ranunculaceae
Distribution: View Map (Courtesy of the BSBI)
Flowering Period


Click for list of all flowering by month
Bulbous Buttercup could sometimes be confused with:

Buttercup, Creeping, Buttercup, Meadow,

A perennial of dry grassland, sandhills and lime-rich soil, this is a hairy plant without runners which is the case in Creeping Buttercup.  Reaching to about 50cm high, it has 5-petalled yellow flowers (20-30mm across) which differ from other Buttercups growing in Ireland by having the five sepals down-turned towards the stem. The flowers bloom on furrowed stalks from March to July.  The leaves are divided into three leaflets, the centre leaflet being long-stalked.  The stem of this plant is swollen – or bulbous -  at the base, and this swelling or corm enables the plant to survive throughout the winter by storing food.This is a native wildflower and it belongs to the family Ranunculaceae

I first identified this plant growing at the Cull, Kilmore Quay, Co Wexford in 2007 and I photographed it there in 2009. 

If you are satisfied you have correctly identified this plant, please submit your sighting to the National Biodiversity Data Centre

Buttercup, Bulbous
Buttercup, Bulbous
Buttercup, Bulbous
Buttercup, Bulbous