Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Ranunculales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Ficaria verna ssp. verna
FAMILY
Ranunculaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
It is now illegal to possess these plants in South Carolina. Read more.
Watch the video, Citizen Science & the invasive Fig Buttercup.
Read more about the insidiously invasive Fig Buttercup.
More from the Plant Conservation Alliance.
More from Wildland Weeds: Under the radar? Ficaria verna quietly naturalizing in the Southeast.
Check out EDDMapS.org to see where this has been reported.
INCLUDED WITHIN
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Ranunculus ficaria
FAMILY
Ranunculaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Ficaria verna ssp. verna
INCLUDED WITHIN Flora of North America
Ranunculus ficaria
SYNONYMOUS WITH Notes on systematics and taxonomy for the Italian vascular flora (Banfi, Galasso, & Soldano; 2011)
Ficaria verna
INCLUDED WITHIN Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)
Ranunculus ficaria var. bulbifera
SYNONYMOUS WITH Ranunculus ficaria sensu lato (Sell, 1994)
Ranunculus ficaria ssp. bulbilifer
COMMON NAME:
Fig Buttercup, Lesser Celandine, Pilewort
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_rafi_001_lvd
)
)
Sturm, Deutschlands Flora in Abbildungen wik_r_ficaria_sturm59
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ranunculus_ficaria_Sturm59.jpg
)
JK Marlow jkm140120_531
January Greenville County SC
Lake Conestee Nature Park
)
JK Marlow jkm140120_537
January Greenville County SC
Lake Conestee Nature Park
)
JK Marlow jkm140208_639
February Greenville County SC
Lake Conestee Nature Park
)
JK Marlow jkm140208_649
February Greenville County SC
Lake Conestee Nature Park
Abundant fingerlike tubers easily visible when plants are pulled up, per Plant Conservation Alliance.
)
JK Marlow jkm140208_657
February Greenville County SC
Lake Conestee Nature Park
Sprouting bulblets (the tiny new leaves are about 1/4", or less).
)
JK Marlow jkm140227_848
February Greenville County SC
Lake Conestee Nature Park
Forms extensive, continuous mats of vegetative growth, per Lesser Celandine (Ranunculus ficaria): A Threat to Woodland Habitats in the Northern US and Southern Canada (Axtell et al., 2010).
)
JK Marlow jkm150321_839
March Greenville County SC
Lake Conestee Nature Park
)
JK Marlow jkm150321_859
March Greenville County SC
Lake Conestee Nature Park
Reported to be developing into a seriously invasive species in northeast US, per Weakley's Flora.
)
JK Marlow jkm150321_860
March Greenville County SC
Lake Conestee Nature Park
Forms a solid blanket which native plants are unable to penetrate, per Plant Invaders of Mid-Atlantic Natural Areas (Swearingen et al., 2002+).
)
JK Marlow jkm160331_193
March Greenville County SC
Riparian zone along urban waterway
)
JK Marlow jkm160331_197
March Greenville County SC
Riparian zone along urban waterway
)
JK Marlow jkm160331_199
March Greenville County SC
Riparian zone along urban waterway
)
Rob Hunnings rlh_9842
March-April Greenville County SC
Lake Conestee Nature Park
Glossy, butter-yellow flowers appear in March and April, per Plant Invaders of Mid-Atlantic Natural Areas (Swearingen et al., 2002+).
)
JK Marlow jkm130409_099b
April Greenville County SC
Lake Conestee Nature Park
)
JK Marlow jkm130409_102b
April Greenville County SC
Lake Conestee Nature Park
)
JK Marlow jkm130409_105b
April Greenville County SC
Lake Conestee Nature Park
Flower petals usually narrow and not contiguous, per Ranunculus ficaria L. sensu lato (Sell 1994).
)
JK Marlow jkm130409_109b
April Greenville County SC
Lake Conestee Nature Park
Sepals spreading, saccate [pouch-like] at extreme base, glabrous, per Flora of North America.
)
JK Marlow jkm130409_113b
April Greenville County SC
Lake Conestee Nature Park
)
JK Marlow jkm130409_122b
April Greenville County SC
Lake Conestee Nature Park
Fig Buttercup and Pennywort.
)
JK Marlow jkm130409_162b
April Greenville County SC
Lake Conestee Nature Park
)
JK Marlow jkm130409_165b
April Greenville County SC
Lake Conestee Nature Park
)
JK Marlow jkm130409_186b
April Greenville County SC
Lake Conestee Nature Park
Leaves simple, cordate, unlobed, up to 4cm x 4cm, per Weakley's Flora.
)
JK Marlow jkm130409_200b
April Greenville County SC
Lake Conestee Nature Park
)
JK Marlow jkm130409_206b
April Greenville County SC
Lake Conestee Nature Park
)
JK Marlow jkm130409_212b
April Greenville County SC
Lake Conestee Nature Park
Isolated rosettes can be hard to spot.
)
JK Marlow jkm130409_238b
April Greenville County SC
Lake Conestee Nature Park
Characteristic of moist alluvial soils in forested floodplains, per Invasive Plants in Pennsylvania: Lesser Celandine.
)
JK Marlow jkm130415_342
April Greenville County SC
Lake Conestee Nature Park
Abundant fingerlike tubers easily visible when plants are pulled up, per Plant Conservation Alliance.
)
JK Marlow jkm130415_344
April Greenville County SC
Lake Conestee Nature Park
A basal rosette of dark-green, kidney-shaped leaves, per Invasive Plants in Pennsylvania: Lesser Celandine.
)
JK Marlow jkm130415_346
April Greenville County SC
Lake Conestee Nature Park
Plant rather slender, with elongated stems and a loose spreading habit, per Ranunculus ficaria L. sensu lato (Sell 1994).
)
JK Marlow jkm130415_350
April Greenville County SC
Lake Conestee Nature Park
[Fruiting heads globose] All but 1 of the 5 subspecies produce viable seed, per Introduced Lesser Celandine & Its Putative Subspecies in the US: A Morphologic Analysis (Post et al., 2009).
COMPARE
fruits that are an aggregate of achenes
)
JK Marlow jkm130415_359
April Greenville County SC
Lake Conestee Nature Park
Fig Buttercup and Liriope.
)
JK Marlow jkm150422_397
April Jackson County NC
)
JK Marlow jkm150422_422
April Jackson County NC
)
JK Marlow jkm150422_424
April Jackson County NC
Fig Buttercup and Daylily.
)
JK Marlow jkm150422_432
April Jackson County NC
)
JK Marlow jkm130501_906
May Greenville County SC
Lake Conestee Nature Park
2 of 5 subspecies are known to produce bulbils in stem axils after flowerng, per Introduced Lesser Celandine & Its Putative Subspecies in the US: A Morphologic Analysis (Post et al., 2009).
)
JK Marlow jkm130520_023
May Greenville County SC
Lake Conestee Nature Park
Small globular rounded-obtuse axillary bulbils reproduce ... vegetatively, per Ranunculus ficaria L. sensu lato (Sell 1994).
)
Marian StClair msc_6027a
May Greenville County SC
Lake Conestee Nature Park
Each bulblet can grow into a new plant once separated from the parent plant.
)
Rob Hunnings rlh_10373
May Greenville County SC
Lake Conestee Nature Park
Above-ground portions die back after flowering and are mostly gone by June, per Plant Conservation Alliance.
)
JK Marlow jkm130612_230
June Greenville County SC
Lake Conestee Nature Park
After leaves die back in May or June, only bulblets are left on soil surface.
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Ficaria verna ssp. verna
FAMILY
Ranunculaceae
INCLUDED WITHIN
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Ranunculus ficaria
FAMILY
Ranunculaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Ficaria verna ssp. verna
INCLUDED WITHIN
Flora of North America
Ranunculus ficaria
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Notes on systematics and taxonomy for the Italian vascular flora (Banfi, Galasso, & Soldano; 2011)
Ficaria verna
INCLUDED WITHIN
Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)
Ranunculus ficaria var. bulbifera
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Ranunculus ficaria sensu lato (Sell, 1994)
Ranunculus ficaria ssp. bulbilifer
2515
Forb
Perennial
Habitat: Disturbed rich forests and bottomlands, mesic suburban forests, lawns, naturalized locally from horticultural plantings, per Weakley's Flora
Non-native: Europe
Rare, naturalized locally from horticultural plantings
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
Click here to see a map showing all occurrences known to SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria. (Zoom in to see more detail.)
This plant is causing problems in natural areas outside its native range, according to authorities such as:
- Brooklyn Botanic Garden
- Forest Health Assessment & Applied Sciences Team: New Invaders of the Northeast
- Forest Health Assessment & Applied Sciences Team: New Invaders of the Southeast
- Georgia Exotic Pest Plant Council, 2015
- Kentucky Exotic Pest Plant Council, 2013
- Maryland Department of Natural Resources, 1994
- Pennsylvania Dept. of Conservation & Natural Resources
- Plant Conservation Alliance
- SC Exotic Pest Plant Council, 2014
- SC List of Regulated Pest Plant Species, 2017
- Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, 2014
- Washington State Noxious Weed Control Board
- Wisconsin Dept. of Natural Resources
LEAVES:
Simple
Basal rosette & alternate
FLOWER:
Spring
Yellow
Radially symmetrical
3-5 sepals
Typically 8 petals (ranging from six to twenty-six)
Numerous stamens
Superior ovary
Bisexual
FRUIT:
Aggregate of achenes
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Invasive Plants, Guide to Identification, Impacts and Control (Kaufman & Kaufman, 2007) p243
- New Invaders of the Northeast and Northcentral US (Rawlins et al., 2018) p087
- New Invaders of the Southeast (Rawlins et al., 2018) p087
- Wildflowers of the Atlantic Southeast (Cotterman, Waitt, & Weakley, 2019) p276
If a search such as "Carex leptalea var. leptalea" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "Carex leptalea".
Or, to minimize chances of a misspelling, try just "Carex le".
Less is more: If "pencil flower" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "pencil".