Greater Spearwort is a tall perennial of the Buttercup family. The flowers are yellow, shiny and twice the size of a Field Buttercup. The bluish green leaves, unlike deeply cut buttercup leaves, are long, pointed and toothed, just slightly; they seem to grip the stem. The stem creeps and roots in the mud, and then grows upwards. This striking plant is found in ditches and fens in the Irish midlands, and has travelled up to Dublin via the canals, but is less seen in the rest of the country. The cultivated variety 'Grandiflora' makes a decorative marginal plant for garden ponds and lakes.
The flowers bloom from June to August.
Greater Spearwort is becoming rare in Britain. It grows throughout Europe and in Siberia.