Corn Buttercup Ranunculus arvensis
Corn Buttercup (Ranunculus arvensis) is a slender, spiny-fruited buttercup once widespread as an arable weed across Britain’s calcareous farmland. Agricultural intensification – particularly herbicide use and improved seed cleaning – caused catastrophic declines during the twentieth century, and it is now a rare sight. Suffolk retains some of the most important remaining populations in England, associated with arable field margins on chalky soils, particularly in the Breckland and boulder-clay areas. Conservation headland schemes and targeted arable weed projects have helped sustain populations at key sites, and the county plays a significant role in the species’ national survival. Image: © Alex Hyde / Back from the Brink.
Find out more: iNaturalist, Plantlife, Online Atlas of the British and Irish Flora, Back from the Brink
Suffolk’s Priority Fern and Flowering Plant Species
Key
Listed as a conservation priority in Suffolk’s Biodiversity Action Plan.
Closely associated with Suffolk’s landscape and natural identity.
Identified as a key priority for recovery under Suffolk’s Local Nature Recovery Strategy.
Has a Species of the Month article attached.
