Bright-yellow Bulbous Buttercups are in full bloom in the fields and along the roadsides of West Tennessee. These non-native plants are considered wildflowers by some — and invasive and noxious weeds by others. Although they add beauty to the landscape, they also compete with native plant species and are mildly toxic to livestock.
“I’ve learned … that two people can look at the exact same thing and see something totally different.” ~Unknown
walking on a country road 
we have a invasive plant that is also yellow……Broom.Nasty stuff!
I read a little about it. Sounds like it spreads quickly and is hard to get rid of.
The story goes that a Scottish immigrant came to Victoria to live.He stayed a few weeks & went to the Sandwich islands (Hawaii).He came back with some Broom because it reminded him of Scotland.The stuff has spread like wild fire!
Wow! Most unfortunate!
thank humans travelling around the globe
I was wondering what those yellow flowers were as we drove through Tennessee last week.
Bulbous Buttercups make quite an impressive splash. You may have also seen butterweed. It is taller than the buttercups and also fills the fields with yellow. Sometimes you see both together in one field.
We saw a lot of them on our trip!
I also figured it out by doing a little research.
I haven’t seen buttercups in years – I remember as a little girl picking handfuls of them in the meadow at the end of our street. I didn’t know they were invasive, nor that they were mildly toxic to livestock. They sure are pretty in this field though.
It’s hard to accept that such a pretty little wildflower could be called insidious. Around here, the farmers spray them and wait for them to die before they do their planting. One of the drawbacks of living near farm land.
Yes it really surprised me as I’ve always liked buttercups and never see them around anymore. I have a neighbor who planted Snow in the Mountain and Lily of the Valley at least 40 plus years ago. She passed away and the new owners pulled them all out, but they had crept over to my house already. I cannot get rid of them without destroying other plants, so I have to live with them.
I’m really sorry to hear that — though I’ve found that sometimes the neighbor’s creeping plants can be a good thing. I got a beautiful lily that way. 🙂
These are pretty persistent, and the neighbor that came in, after ripping out the other plants, liked mint as she and her husband liked iced tea with mint. They planted it and it creeps over as well. I’ve just given up and let it stay there as all three are invasive. Lucky you getting a lily though. I had a neighbor on the other side years ago that had many niger thistle seed feeders. They would replenish the food every morning and just toss the remainder in the feeder into the side of my house. I had these gargantuan thistles growing there for years and they are rhizomes and the roots grow horizontally, not vertically. I would have to spade through the roots in an effort to slice them in two and was not too successful. I am still trying to get rid of them, long after those neighbors have moved.
Invasive plants are definitely a nuisance and it sounds like they are making a lot of extra work for you.
Unfortunately yes, and I have learned to just embrace their presence rather than be constantly bothered by them. I lost many of my plants and bushes after Polar Vortex I and II and opted not to replace them. I was sick about all my butterfly bushes which I thought were hardy and they were lost the first year. It was a delight to go out in the backyard and see all the butterflies, but I didn’t want to lose more bushes. After I started the walking regimen I no longer wanted the care and maintenance of annuals so I bought some very realistic-looking silk flowers and planted them in the pots, planters, and baskets I usually put the annuals in. They have lasted 5 years and will need to be replaced this year. No more angst over taking care of them or the other invasive species. Plus in 2008 I got new neighbors behind and they left their pit bull out 24/7/365 and I got rats, so no more birdfeeders or birdbaths allowed as it attracted rats. I was just sick about it … had a nice little paradise in the backyard … birds, butterflies and flowers. All gone now.
I’m so sorry for the beauty that you lost! Sounds like you have made good alternative choices for your yard and for yourself.
What an appropriate quote on the subject! I have really been enjoying the beauty of weeds this Spring.
Me too! They definitely brighten up the landscape. 🙂