a buttercup, crowfoot, or related plant that typically has yellow flowers with five petals
any of a large widely distributed genus of plants of the buttercup family that includes the buttercups and crowfoots and that typically have yellow flowers with five petals: genus Ranunculus
[Latin genus name, from ranunculus tadpole, crowfoot, dimin. of rana frog; perhaps because many species grow in water or in damp places where frogs may be found]