Ranunculus lingua - Greater Spearwort

The Ranunculus lingua is a plant from our aquatic flora better known as the Great water buttercup, or the tongue-leaved buttercup. This vigorous perennial with long pointed leaves bears very bright yellow flowers resembling large buttercups, throughout the summer. Although prolific and able to colonize waterlogged soils, this beautiful species is now protected throughout France. Decorative, it will accompany other semi-aquatic perennials around large basins.

The Ranunculus lingua, from the family of buttercups, is a herbaceous perennial plant with a spreading rhizomatous rootstock, capable of spreading in width significantly. It is native to mainly central Europe, central Asia, and India. In France, it is found in very humid places such as marshes, ponds, or water-filled ditches permanently. Its above-ground vegetation emerges from the ground in spring and disappears in winter. The great water buttercup produces a loose clump of strong, hollow, brittle, leafy and erect stems, reaching an average of 1 m (3ft) from the ground. It produces two types of leaves: those of the stems are very long, lanceolate, tapering to a point, with entire or dentate margins, semi-sheathing, while those that develop underwater are oval and heart-shaped. Their colour is a light and vibrant green. Flowering begins in June and continues until August. At the tip of the stems, solitary flowers with 5 petals of a very bright golden yellow colour bloom, arranged in a cup 3 to 5 cm (1 to 2in) in diameter around a small yellow stamen center.

Plant this Great water buttercup on the edge of a pond or a permanent pond, under 5 to 15 cm (2 to 6in) of water, or in soil that will remain waterlogged permanently. Technically, your pond will maintain its balance (i.e. clear water) by combining the following trio: floating plants (Water lilies), submerged plants with strong oxygenating power (Water crowfoot, Pondweed, and Water lettuce), and very shallow water plants on the edge (Japanese iris, Fern, and Horsetail).

Feel free to green the banks with more sophisticated and graphic plants to create an enchanting tableau, such as the Virginia sweetspire Little Henry (a small fragrant white bush) and the Variegated sweet flag (Acorus grass).