Wildflower - Buttercup

Buttercups are a common wildflower with a small, 1/2 inch, bright yellow blossom on tall stems. Buttercups have an acrid foliage that is usually avoided by grazing animals because it is toxic and can cause irritation of the mouth and digestive tract. As a result, Buttercups are often found in pastures used by grazing farm animals. The toxic foliage of the buttercup becomes inactive once the plant is dried and therefore safe in hay used by livestock.



What the buttercup flower lacks in size, it can make up with numbers. This is the hay field next to our barn.



A view of the field from my drone. Our barn is in the upper left of the photo.