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The shepard's lily

Ranunculus lyallii

Also called Mount Cook buttercup, Mountain Lily

The shepard's lily
Photo: Velela, CC BY-SA 2.5

Ranunculus lyallii is a large, white-flowered alpine buttercup, the largest species in its genus, growing over a metre tall in New Zealand's high mountains. It is a challenging subalpine plant best grown in cool, moist, well-drained conditions, and is not typically grown as a garden or houseplant.

Family
Ranunculaceae (Buttercup family)
Grows as
Perennial
Light
Full sun, Part shade
Water
Keep the soil consistently moist during the growing season but never waterlogged.
Soil
Free-draining, humus-rich, gritty soil
Temperature
10–20 °C; tolerates cold winters, protect from prolonged heat above 25 °C
How easy
Hard
Safety
Toxic: All parts of buttercups contain protoanemonin and related irritants that can blister skin and irritate the mouth and gut if eaten.. Toxic to cats and dogs (ASPCA).
Native range
New Zealand South I.
Climate
subalpine or subarctic

About

Ranunculus lyallii (Mountain buttercup, Mount Cook buttercup, or, although not a lily, Mount Cook lily), is a species of Ranunculus (buttercup), endemic to New Zealand, where it occurs in the South Island and on Rakiura Stewart Island at altitudes of 700–1,500 m. R. lyallii is the largest species in the genus Ranunculus, growing over a metre in height.

The species was discovered by David Lyall, (1817–1895), a noted Scottish botanist and doctor.

Other Ranunculus plants

Littleleaf buttercup · Aconite-leaf buttercup · Meadow buttercup · White water crowfoot · Asian Buttercup · Brackish Water-crowfoot · St. Anthony's turnip · Ranunculus calandrinioides · California buttercup · Greater creeping spearwort · Glacier buttercup · Ranunculus gramineus

Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Ranunculus lyallii by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.

The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.

Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.

Pet safety from the ASPCA toxic and non-toxic plant lists.

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