This annual buttercup with a wide palaeo-tropical distribution is present, but generally rare and localised, in Lazio, Abruzzo, Sardinia and Sicily. It grows in moist habitats, especially swamps, from 500 to 1200 m. It is a characteristic species of Mediterranean temporary ponds in Sardinia, where it is localised in the outer belt. The fresh parts are poisonous (protoanemonine). The genus name, the Latin for 'little frog', was used since ancient times only for the aquatic species of the subgenus Batrachion, also a diminutive of the Greek 'batràchos' (frog); the species name refers to the characteristic arrangement of the sessile flowers, which seem to originate from one side of the stem. Flowering period: March to May. |