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Ranunculus repens

Ranunculus repens

9.5
A low plant with bright yellow flowers that spreads along the ground in wet grass
  • noun
  • Specialized
translation icon : Ranunculus repens
  • The bright yellow flowers of Ranunculus repens bloom from late spring to early summer.

Examples

  • Gardeners frequently struggle to control Ranunculus repens due to its rapid spread by runners.

  • You can often find Ranunculus repens thriving in damp areas, as it loves moist soil.

  • Ranunculus repens often invades lawns and moist meadows, outcompeting native grasses.

  • The garden was filled with Ranunculus repens.

  • I found Ranunculus repens growing near the pond.

  • Ranunculus repens produces stunning yellow flowers that can brighten any garden during spring.

  • Many gardeners appreciate Ranunculus repens for its ability to spread quickly and cover bare patches.

Synonyms

creeping buttercup
vsRanunculus repens
  • Specialized
7.9

A low plant with long stems that spread along the ground and small bright yellow flowers in damp places

is the scientific name form rather than the common name

Surface Forms

Morphology

Ranunculus + repens

This is a Latin binomial (genus + species) rather than an ordinary English phrase; knowing 'Ranunculus' as a plant genus does not let a B1 learner infer the specific sense 'repens' (creeping) because the epithet is Latin and not defined here. Botanical Latin is not part of general English compositional patterns, so the overall meaning ('creeping buttercup' / a creeping perennial herb) is not derivable from the provided constituents.

Etymology

Ranunculus repens comes from Latin: ranunculus means 'little frog' because these bright yellow flowers like wet places where frogs live, and repens means 'creeping' because the plant spreads along the ground by runners, so the name explains why we call it the 'creeping buttercup' today.