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Cursed buttercup

- the beggar's dubious friend
 
The cursed buttercup has tiny bright yellow petals and an elongated, cylindrical-shaped flower base.
 
The Danish for cursed buttercup is 'tiggeranunkel', which literally means 'beggar's buttercup'. It got this name because in the old days the beggars used to put the poisonous plant sap on their skin. The plant sap induced eczema and unsightly rashes on the skin that made them look more wretched. They hoped their pitiful appearance would help them to get a few more pennies in their beggar bag.
 
 
Facts about cursed buttercups
 
Height: 10-50 cm
 
Grows at lakeshores, watercourses, ditches and springs.
 
The stem is hollow and has many branches with many flowers. The flowers are pale yellow and up to 1 cm wide. The base of the flower is rounded cylindrical-shaped.
 
Common in most of the country, but sparse in this area.

Tiggerranunkel, Foto: Biopix, J.C. Schou