A member of the buttercup family (Ranunculaceae), mousetail is an annual native to the Northern Hemisphere including North America, Europe, Asia and north Africa. It prefers light shade and moist soil but can adapt to full sun and medium dry soil and can be found in woodland edges, wet meadows, and riverbanks as well as gardens. The cool moist days of spring provide the conditions for optimum growth
Description
Mousetail produces a tuft five inches tall with a rosette of basal leaves and one to several flowering stalks. The medium green basal leaves are linear and two to four inches long. Flowers are borne singly on leafless stalks two to six inches tall. Each flower has five yellowish green petals .2 inches long and a conspicuous center that elongates to 1 to 2.5 inches with maturity. Plants bloom for one to two months beginning in mid-spring. The root system is fibrous.
Control
Mousetail can be easily removed from the garden by hoeing. If it gets into the lawn, a broadleaf weed killer containing 2,4, D such as Trimec, can be used to eliminate it.