It is not edible and has economic uses, but it is generally valued as a plant of conservation interest and an indicator of less agriculturally improved habitat.

Brackish water-crowfoot is an annual or perennial aquatic plant with stems up to 3 m long, becoming terrestrial as its habitat dries out in summer.

The fruits are achenes 1.2-1.8 mm long with thin ventral and dorsal wings at maturity and a short, lateral beak.

This species is distinguished by its habitat, which is usually very coastal, the combination of laminar and capillary leaves, and by the distinctive blue tips to the typically downward-pointing sepals.

[4] This species was overlooked until 1839, when the name Ranunculus baudotii was published by Dominique Alexandre Godron[5] in a journal in the French city of Nancy, giving the name in honour of the botanist Charles Joseph Auguste de Baudot, from nearby Sarrebourg.

[2] Although it is normally found in coastal locations, below 10 m, it also occurs in karst springs in central Europe[7] and old mineral workings and canals in England.

There are no insects recorded on brackish water-crowfoot specifically[12][13] but various species feed on Ranunculus generally and can be found producing leaf mines and other damage to plants.

Brackish water-crowfoot occurs throughout Europe, extending just as far as North Africa and westernmost Asia, but it is absent or extinct in some inland regions and countries, such as Switzerland.

Animals tend to avoid eating them because the taste is acrid, unless they are dried in hay or sprayed with herbicide.