Melody Kraus
Adams County Master Gardener

At this time of the year, swathes of lush green foliage with bright yellow flowers appear in the local forests. The flower catches the eye and most people identify it as a "buttercup." However, it is lesser celandine (Ficaria verna, previously Ranunculus ficaria). Although it still belongs to the family Ranunculaceae, it used to be a member of the genus Ranunculus. The latter term combines the Latin words r~na, meaning frog, and unculus, meaning little. According to www.petalrepublic.com/ranunculus-flowers, it may have acquired this name because "it grows as abundant as little frogs along streams." This family has 2,000 known species of flowering plants, subdivides into 43 genera, and grows worldwide, including the United States. In fact, a plant named Ranunculus pensylvanicus (aka bristly crowfoot and Pennsylvania buttercup) exists; it is native to the northern portions of the United States, but lives only in wetlands, including marshes, shores of lakes and rivers, and swamps, preferring disturbed soils.

Lesser celandine is a spring ephemeral which are plants that emerge early and disappear upon the arrival of warmer weather in the late spring or early summer, usually June. They are natives to Europe, northern Africa, Siberia, and western Asia that were brought to the United States as ornamental plants, probably in the mid-1800s. The first known herbarium specimen was reported in Pennsylvania in 1867. Eventually, however, the plants escaped from home settings.

Upon examination, lesser celandine has shiny dark green kidney or heart shaped leaves that grow in closely clustered leaf stalks. Each yellow flower is about one inch in diameter and has its own stalk, which rises slightly above the foliage. Each flower has seven to twelve individual petals and three green sepals; these latter parts surround and protect the bud and extend from the base of the flower to provide support after it has opened. Although its roots only grow about three inches in length, they are dense and produce multiple oddly-shaped tubers, which store carbohydrates created by the plants. The following spring, this energy is used for new leaf growth. Also, the tubers easily break off from the roots when disturbed and create new plants.

Another part of the plant which helps it spread are the bulbils, growths which are shaped like Christmas tree bulbs, located at the base of the leaves and able to become new plants. This shape fits nicely into the dewclaws of hoofed animals like deer making them significant spreaders of these plants along deer trails.

In addition, lesser celandine possesses other traits which allow it to dominate native spring ephemerals and become invasive. It sprouts early with shoots emerging in March, blooming in April and May, before the leaves turn yellow in late May or June. During its annual growing cycle, it remains low to the ground being about four to five inches in height and spreads to form a thick swath, smothering all other flora and creating its own monoculture, which damages the ecosystem as a whole. It has no natural predators. Furthermore, it has no food value for wildlife and destroys the vegetation that wildlife feeds upon. The pollinators lack their native food sources, especially in the early spring when food remains scarce. Finally, it spreads by multiple means, including displacement of plants by humans and movement of animals and water. Although it prefers moist, sandy soils, it is adaptable and appears in multiple types of soils and moisture conditions, including steep hillsides and areas with scarce water and poor soil. It can grow in any amount of light from full sun to full shade.

These characteristics have caused Lesser Celandine to appear on the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources' (DCNR) Invasive Plants List. Such plants exhibit three main characteristics of invasive plants including "not native to an area; spread quickly; cause economic or environmental harm, or harm to human health"

It has received a rating of one which is defined as "Severe Threat. Exotic plant species that possess characteristics of invasive species and spread easily into native plant communities and displace native vegetation. Includes species that are or could become widespread in Pennsylvania" (see the same page under the section entitled "Additional Information" for the DCNR Invasive Plant Species List).

Due to these traits, it is difficult to eliminate this plant or at least contain it. However, control can be accomplished either manually or chemically, although this latter method must be used judiciously, especially in wetlands due to the amphibian and reptile populations. A description of manual control is described in the online article entitled, Removing Lesser Celandine: It Can Be Done on www.thesanguineroot.com/?p=2726.

Lesser Celandine, described so romantically by William Wordsworth, sounds a boon to any springtime landscape. Yet, upon closer examination, these flowers may be more harmful than beneficial after all.

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