# Fjäll buttercup (Ranunculus nivalis)

**Swedish: Isranunculus | English: Snow Buttercup | Family: Buttercup family (Ranunculaceae)**

The Fjäll buttercup (*Ranunculus nivalis*), Swedish **Isranunkel** or *Fjällranunkel*, is one of the pioneer plants of the high Swedish mountains.

As soon as the cold of the Arctic winter recedes and the meltwater flows, the plant pushes its bright yellow flowers through the remaining snow. The cup-shaped flower aligns itself with the sun (heliotropism) to concentrate heat for seed maturation.

## FAQs

- **Where does the fell buttercup occur?**: It grows in moist snow valleys, on springy mountain slopes and river banks in northern Sweden.
- **Why does the plant tolerate extreme frost?**: Dark guard hairs on the calyx absorb solar radiation and prevent the flower buds from freezing.
- **Is the fell buttercup poisonous?**: Like almost all buttercup plants, it contains pungent substances (protoanemonin) and should not be consumed.
- **When is the flowering time?**: Very short! Usually from mid-June to the end of July directly after the local snowmelt.
- **How tall does Iranunculus grow?**: A very compact plant about 5 to 15 cm tall.
- **Can you grow the plant in the garden?**: No, it needs the cool, microclimatically humid mountain climate and dies in warm low altitudes.


## Weitere Informationen

- Botanical illustration: Fjäll buttercup (Ranunculus nivalis), in Swedish'Isranunkel'.
- A tough subarctic survivor that thrives right next to melting Skanden snowfields.