Buttercups are a family of herbs with bright yellow flowers with 5 petals.
One of the reasons buttercups are so easily seen in farmers fields is because they are poisonous to livestock . The animals learn quickly to leave them alone as the sap has an acrid taste.
It was believed that the golden yellow colour of butter came from buttercups eaten by the livestock. This is where the name buttercup originally came from.
The seed heads of buttercups contain 30 seeds and are shaped like a spiky ball,