Nature enthusiasts across the UK have been urged to count buttercups to estimate the age of the nation’s fields.
The new scheme, led by scientists from Aberystwyth University in Wales, is looking for people to build up a snapshot of the flowers in order to learn more about the fields they grow in.
Organisers are asking the public to look at 100 creeping buttercups and count the number with more than five petals on their flowers .
Dr John Warren of the University’s Institute of Biological, Environmental and Rural Sciences, explained: "The idea is simple and is based on the fact that many plants reproduce vegetatively and by doing so live to great ages."
"However, as we all know, as things grow old they tend not to work quite as well as when they were younger.
He added: "Preliminary research has shown old buttercups from older pastures are more likely to have extra petals than young buttercups in newly established fields.
"Therefore looking at the proportion of buttercups in a field with more than five petals may indicate the age of the field."
The creeping buttercup ranunculus repens is the most common type in Britain and can easily be distinguished from the meadow buttercup due to its leaves which are in three parts and have a short stalk connecting the middle section.
They also stand out from the third species of buttercup, the bulbous buttercup, as the latter contain sepals just behind the flowers which fold back over the flower stalk.
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Scientists seeking buttercup counters
Thu, 15 May 2008
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