35 



BUTTERCUP FAMILY {RanunculacecB) 

 CURSED CROWFOOT {Ranunculus sceleratus L.) 



Common Names: Other popular names given to this Ranunculus are 

 biting crowfoot, celery-leaved crowfoot, blisterwort, and among its French 

 names are Mort au vaches, Herbe sardonique. 



Description: The cursed crowfoot is a stout, hollow-stemmed 

 annual from six inches to two feet high. The leaves from the root are 

 thick, with long and broad stalks, rounded or h^art-shaped, three lobed 

 and toothed. The upper leaves have very short stalks or none at all, 

 longer lobes and fewer teeth. The flowers are pale yellow, small, about 

 one-quarter of an inch broad, the petals about the same length as the 

 sepals. The fruiting heads or clusters of seeds, which may be seen on 

 plants still in flower, are oblong or cylindric. The plants ar'e in bloom 

 from June to August, sometimes earlier or later, according to locality 

 and climatic conditions. 



Distribution: It is found in wet ditches, low lands, and swamps 

 from New Brunswick to British Columbia. 



Poisonous Properties: As its name implies, the cursed crowfoot is 

 one of the most virulent of our native species. It contains very acrid and 

 poisonous principles. Any small portion of the leaf or flower, if eaten, 

 will cause severe pain and serious inflammation, and if applied to the skin 

 will raise painful blisters in a short time. Beggars in Europe use this and 

 other species of buttercup to produce running sores. An old herbalist 

 says, ''Cunning beggars doe use to stampe the leaves, and lay it unto their 

 legs and armes, which causeth such filthy ulcers as we daily see among 

 such wicked vagabondes to move the people the more to pittie." 



The chemical composition of the acrid and bitter juice of the butter- 

 cups is not well known, but it is thought that the substance is similar to 

 the anemonine of the species of Anemone. The toxic principle is volatile, 

 and the buttercups may be rendered harmless by drying or boiling. When 

 dried with the hay they may be eaten by stock without injury. When 

 fresh they are acrid and burning, causing intense irritation of the mucous 

 membrane and inflammation of the intestinal tract. Some of the species, 

 as for instance R. repens L., are hardly if at all injurious even in a green 

 state, although one case of fatal poisoning to sheep has been recorded of 

 this species. 



Animals Affected: It is evident that under certain circumstances 

 all animals are liable to suffer injury from the toxic principles of the 

 buttercups, but they are considered especially dangerous to cows. It is 

 stated that in man a single flower of R. sceleratus may give rise to poisonous 

 symptoms similar to those caused by Anemone and Colchicum. 



