Alpine Flower a Day: Korikori, Hairy alpine, Mountain Buttercup
Alpine Flower a Day: Day 28, Korikori, Hairy Alpine, Mountain Buttercup (Ranunculus insignis)
– like a big yellow buttercup, fading to white as it ages
– in the rock labyrinth of Mt Owen, Kahurangi National Park
Definition of buttercup
It's easy with one word:
buttercup
but difficult with many:
it equals the sun, each calling
to the other, yellow shining
like butter in a porcelain cup,
melts under your chin
do you like butter?
grows using photosynthesis
and water (see earlier
poem). Hairy leaves described
by alpine botanists with microscopic
vision, it roots itself to
earth in a goldilocks position
between rocks, in bogs, the fact
that you stumble across one
looking up between milky
500 million year old Karst
on this rolling star in a multitude
of galaxies on a sunny
new year's day, so
infinitesimally small.
If you're interested in the inspiration behind this month-long series of 'An Alpine Flower A Day' about NZ alpine flowers and poems, you can find more in my first post: An Alpine Flower A Day Enjoy!
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