Buttercup flowers in Williamston NC

I was visiting family over Easter and noticed that there were these yellow flowers all over the cow pastures. What I thought was odd was those flowers only seemed to be present where the pastures were. I asked my family what they were and they told me those flowers were buttercups. These flowers are winter annuals that flower in the spring. They are the most common in over grazed fields, and can be harmful to some animals. They can only grow when other dominant plant species are over grazed. Once the seeds have been dispersed buttercups typically can not grow because the dominant plant species is covering the soil. The exposed soil is needed for the buttercups to grow, because it needs the sunlight. They are unwanted weeds to most farmers and the cows will eat around them, which is another reason why they are everywhere, because the cows will eat everything else. This video is a good example to show how one species can effect the growth or suppression of another.

sources: caldwell.ces.ncsu.edu/2014/01/buttercup-pasture-control/

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