Ranunculus asiaticus Butterfly Lycia® - Persian buttercup

Ranunculus Butterfly™ Lycia® is a very fresh-looking Persian buttercup, prized for its pink flowering and its long, flexible, sturdy and floriferous stems. Its corollas, simpler than those of traditional varieties, have a lively and light appearance. It brings grace and naturalness to spring borders, large containers, and cut flower arrangements.

Butterfly™ Lycia® belongs to the Ranunculaceae family. It derives from Ranunculus asiaticus, the Persian buttercup, a tuberous perennial grown as a slightly tender spring flower. The wild species is native to the eastern Mediterranean, present from the southern Aegean Sea to western and southwestern Iran. In nature, it grows in open environments, on stony hillsides, in fallow land, olive groves and low scrub vegetation of the phrygana type, on well-drained soil.

The cultivar Lycia® was obtained by the Japanese breeder Aya Engei, the originator of the series Butterfly™, developed for cut flowers and high-quality production. The plants in this series produce long, well-branched, floriferous stems that hold up well in a vase. Lycia® reaches 50 to 60 cm in height in flower and 20 to 30 cm in width. The foliage first appears as a small basal tuft. The leaves are medium green, divided into rounded or narrower lobes depending on their position on the plant. The leafy stems, branched towards the top, bear several flower buds. In Lycia®, the corollas are single or barely semi-double, cup-shaped, with a satiny appearance and a clearly visible centre. Their colour ranges from soft pink to a brighter pink depending on the stage of opening and the light. Flowering occurs from April to June, depending on the planting date. Asian buttercup Lycia® flowers in spring, then its vegetation dries up and disappears in summer; its rhizomes can withstand about -5/-6 °C in very well-drained soil.
The Persian buttercup has been one of the most cultivated florist's plants for centuries. Its cultivation is ancient in the Mediterranean basin and in Anjou, where the claws have long been the subject of genuine horticultural know-how.

Grow Persian buttercup in borders, beds and even in pots on a terrace. In the garden, as in a vase, this Butterfly™ Lycia® variety pairs well with daffodil 'Replete', white and pink, more opulent, Triumph tulip 'HotPants', white and purplish violet, and grape hyacinth 'Touch of Snow', for its small blue spikes washed with white at ground level. Annual poppy Papaver rhoeas 'Parelmoer' will also be a very beautiful companion, with its crumpled flowers in pastel and pearly tones, as will poppy 'Amazing Grey'.
By lifting the rhizomes before frosts, you can grow this buttercup like a gladiolus.