Ranunculus abortivus
L.
Littleleaf buttercup.
RanunculaceaeLeaves
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izzy.herbalist
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What to Eat
Edible parts: Leaves
The plant had a variety of uses among Native American groups. The Cherokee cooked and ate the leaves. They used it medicinally for abscesses and sore throat and as a sedative. The Iroquois used it for snakebite and poisoning, smallpox, and toothache.
Where to Find It
It is a temperate plant.
North America, USA,
Countries: Antigua & Barbuda, Barbados, Bahamas, Belize, Canada, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guatemala, Honduras, Haiti, Jamaica, St Kitts & Nevis, St Lucia, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Puerto Rico, El Salvador, Trinidad & Tobago, United States, St Vincent
How to Identify
A widespread temperate herb in the buttercup family (Ranunculaceae) with variable leaf shapes and erect stems 10–60 cm tall. Found across most of North America from Canada to the southern United States.
References (1)
- Moerman, D. F., 2010, Native American Ethnobotany. Timber Press. p 467
