Buttercups must be cooked before they are used, whether cooked for eating or dried for medicinal use. When parts of the plant are crushed or broken the ranunculin therein contained breaks down to form protoanemonin which can cause contact dermatitis in humans, but one only simply needs to wear gloves when harvesting. Various varieties have different concentrations of the ranunculin toxin, the lowest being in creeping buttercup at 0.27%, making it the safest to eat and use. The primary method is to boil the leaves, which destroys the ranunculin making them safe to eat how one sees fit. Furthermore, the flowers can be pickled once they are boiled and make a tasty treat to add to a variety of dishes. The kidney-leaved buttercup’s leaves were commonly eaten and used by Native American tribes across the plant’s range.
Besides being edible, varieties of ranunculi have shown medicinal qualities. The most common uses in modern medicines are to combat intermittent fevers and to act as an anti-rheumatic. Native American groups used buttercups in a variety of ways, such as in the treatment of arrow and gunshot wounds; as a poultice for abscesses; as a sedative for sore throats; as a decoction for epilepsy, blood disease, stiff muscles, toothaches, and snakebites; as an antidote to some poisons; and as a drying treatment for smallpox sores. Moreover, the ranunculin in the juice makes it great at removing warts. Buttercups may also be useful to those who enjoy fishing, for a tea can be made from them which upon pouring onto the ground will drive earthworms to the surface.
So, remember to try and eat one wild food every day! If you have any questions or comments or ideas for wild food articles or recipes, please email [email protected].