[John]

Whilst working on the Cretan flora I came across this red form which is quite widespread on the island. It seems to only occur in cultivated land or land that would have been cultivated. To my knowledge all of these red Cretan plants are sterile and reproduce by underground stolons ending in a new plants with their own root tubers.  On Rhodes red is the most common colour and they are what I would call of the typical form and fertile. Typical Cretan plants come in colours of white, often blushed pink and with the occasional all pink form or yellow.

[Alisdair]

The red form of Ranunculus asiaticus is hard to beat for sheer spectacular showiness. This is a superb plant for mediterranean gardeners, thriving on hot dry summers and a rather wet winter. It will also take cold nights - as these plants we saw on the MGS trip to Israel this spring, on the Golan Heights.

[oron peri]

Whilst working on the Cretan flora I came across this red form which is quite widespread on the island. It seems to only occur in cultivated land or land that would have been cultivated. To my knowledge all of these red Cretan plants are sterile and reproduce by underground stolons ending in a new plants with their own root tubers. 

John that is a very intresting observation, i wonder if it is a result of thousands years of agriculture in Crete. As fields are plunged in spring, mainly Olive groves and so plants do not manage to produce seeds?

[David Bracey]

Cultivation can do many things.  Clearly the cultivation has cut and spread the stolons of R. asiaticus over time.  It does not necessarily take long either.  I`ve seen many neighbour spread his creeping thistle (?) in his backgarden after one cultivation with a power-driven rotovator.    

[ezeiza]

Oron, is this plant edible to grazing animals? Consistent grazing by flowering time could encourage the spreading of vegetatively propagating forms.

[MikeHardman]

Agreed - good observation, John.

It's a funny thing...
In Cyprus, or at least the western corner where I live, Anemone coronaria usually occurs in pastel shades. But the few patches of the bright red one I know are all in places recently cultivated.
...Slim statistics to go on, but I wonder if it might be a broader Ranunculaceae thing?

[JTh]

All Ranunculus spp. are poisonous to grazing animals, but they normally stay away  from them because of the taste; the poison is broken down by drying, so hay with dry buttercups is edible. The fresh plants may cause contact  dermatitis in humans, so you should be careful when handling lots of them.

[ezeiza]

Thanks, most interesting.