Buttercups are small, shiny wildflowers that are a bright, sunny yellow, and their petals are so smooth and glossy that they look like they have been polished with butter! Scientists discovered that buttercup petals have a special extra-smooth layer on top that reflects light almost like a tiny mirror. That is why they seem to glow so brightly in the sunshine. There are over 600 different kinds of buttercups growing all around the world, from meadows and parks to the edges of ponds and streams.
There is a classic game kids have played for hundreds of years where you hold a buttercup under your chin, and if your chin glows yellow, it means you like butter! The golden reflection actually comes from those shiny mirror-like petals bouncing light onto your skin. Buttercups might look sweet and friendly, but they are actually a little bit tricky – they taste very bitter and yucky, so animals like cows and horses know not to eat them. Bees and beetles love to land on buttercups and drink their nectar, and you can often spot buttercups growing in big cheerful patches in grassy meadows, parks, and gardens all through the spring and summer.
