Creeping Buttercup

Creeping buttercup (Ranunculus repens) is a low-growing perennial native to Europe, Asia, and northwestern Africa and now a widespread weed across temperate regions. It spreads aggressively by above-ground runners (stolons) that root at the nodes, quickly forming dense patches in lawns, gardens, and damp ground.

Its cheerful, glossy yellow flowers are attractive, but the plant is a tenacious weed that is difficult to eradicate once established. It thrives in moist, heavy, poorly drained soils where many other plants struggle.

Once it gains a foothold it competes strongly with turf and other plantings, making early, persistent control important.

Identify creeping buttercup by its rooting runners, three-part hairy leaves, and glossy yellow flowers.

• Flowers: Glossy, five-petaled, bright yellow, about 1 inch across
• Leaves: Divided into three lobed, toothed leaflets, often with pale blotches, on hairy stalks
• Habit: Low, spreading, with horizontal runners that root at the nodes to form mats
• Roots: Fibrous, with creeping stolons; persistent
• Habitat clue: Favors damp, heavy, poorly drained ground

Managed as an aggressive weed.

• Control: Dig out the whole plant including runners and roots; fragments re-root
• Cultural: Improve drainage and aeration, since it thrives in wet, compacted soil
• Timing: Remove before it flowers and spreads; persist over multiple seasons
• It needs no care to spread and tolerates mowing, sun, and partial shade

Native to Europe, Asia, and northwestern Africa, creeping buttercup has naturalized across North America, Australia, New Zealand, and other temperate regions.

It favors moist, heavy, poorly drained ground: damp lawns, pastures, ditches, stream banks, woodland edges, and gardens. Its tolerance of wet, compacted soils gives it a competitive edge in places where turf and crops struggle.