Buttercups can be found in open meadows and prairies as well as woodlands. They can grow to 60cm, but they can also survive if they are cut back in a garden lawn. In that case the stems are very short.

Buttercups are often a troublesome 'weed' in a garden because they spread by runners as well as seed. The runners stretch over the ground, and then grow new roots and shoots where they touch the soil. In this way they can spread rapidly. They can also grow from pieces of runner.

Buttercups have five bright yellow petals and are attractive to many insects.

A variety of buttercup grows in marshes and swamps and will be found beside rivers.