OF THE CAROLINAS & GEORGIA

Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Ranunculales

WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Ficaria verna ssp. ficariiformis   FAMILY Ranunculaceae   Go to FSUS key



INCLUDED WITHIN PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Ranunculus ficaria   FAMILY Ranunculaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)

Ficaria verna ssp. ficariiformis

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 grandiflora

INCLUDED WITHIN Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)

Ranunculus ficaria var. bulbifera

SYNONYMOUS WITH Ranunculus ficaria sensu lato (Sell, 1994)

Ranunculus ficaria ssp. ficariiformis

 

COMMON NAME:
Fig Buttercup, Lesser Celandine, Pilewort


         To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.

image of Ficaria verna ssp. ficariiformis, Fig Buttercup, Lesser Celandine, Pilewort

USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913    pnd_rafi_001_lvd

        

image of Ficaria verna ssp. ficariiformis, Fig Buttercup, Lesser Celandine, Pilewort

commons.wikimedia.org    wik_nsr_slika_028

        

commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Nsr-slika-028.png

image of Ficaria verna ssp. ficariiformis, Fig Buttercup, Lesser Celandine, Pilewort

Sturm, Deutschlands Flora in Abbildungen    wik_r_ficaria_sturm59

        

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ranunculus_ficaria_Sturm59.jpg

image of Ficaria verna ssp. ficariiformis, Fig Buttercup, Lesser Celandine, Pilewort

JK Marlow    jkm140123_552

January    Greenville County    SC

Riparian zone along urban waterway

image of Ficaria verna ssp. ficariiformis, Fig Buttercup, Lesser Celandine, Pilewort

JK Marlow    jkm140123_555b

January    Greenville County    SC

Riparian zone along urban waterway

Leaves of ssp. ficariiformis up to 7x7cm; those of chrysocephala to 8x9cm, per Ranunculus ficaria L. sensu lato (Sell 1994).

image of Ficaria verna ssp. ficariiformis, Fig Buttercup, Lesser Celandine, Pilewort

JK Marlow    jkm140123_557

January    Greenville County    SC

Riparian zone along urban waterway

image of Ficaria verna ssp. ficariiformis, Fig Buttercup, Lesser Celandine, Pilewort

JK Marlow    jkm140123_563

January    Greenville County    SC

Plants were found in the scour zone and on a ledge above this urban creek.

image of Ficaria verna ssp. ficariiformis, Fig Buttercup, Lesser Celandine, Pilewort

JK Marlow    jkm140124_584

January    Greenville County    SC

Some of the tubers caught by a colander after washing the specimens.

image of Ficaria verna ssp. ficariiformis, Fig Buttercup, Lesser Celandine, Pilewort

JK Marlow    jkm140201_610b

February    York County    SC

Riparian zone along urban waterway

Plants were found in the scour zone of an urban creek in Rock Hill.

image of Ficaria verna ssp. ficariiformis, Fig Buttercup, Lesser Celandine, Pilewort

JK Marlow    jkm140201_612

February    York County    SC

Riparian zone along urban waterway

image of Ficaria verna ssp. ficariiformis, Fig Buttercup, Lesser Celandine, Pilewort

JK Marlow    jkm140201_614

February    York County    SC

Riparian zone along urban waterway

image of Ficaria verna ssp. ficariiformis, Fig Buttercup, Lesser Celandine, Pilewort

JK Marlow    jkm140201_615

February    York County    SC

Riparian zone along urban waterway

Anecdotal observation: Petioles stout, grooved, not round in cross-section.

image of Ficaria verna ssp. ficariiformis, Fig Buttercup, Lesser Celandine, Pilewort

JK Marlow    jkm140201_617

February    York County    SC

Riparian zone along urban waterway

image of Ficaria verna ssp. ficariiformis, Fig Buttercup, Lesser Celandine, Pilewort

JK Marlow    jkm140201_628

February    York County    SC

Riparian zone along urban waterway

Fig Buttercup's roots have fig-shaped tubers (Marsh Marigold's do not) , per Lesser Celandine (Ranunculus ficaria): A Threat to Woodland Habitats in the Northern US and Southern Canada (Axtell et al., 2010).

image of Ficaria verna ssp. ficariiformis, Fig Buttercup, Lesser Celandine, Pilewort

JK Marlow    jkm140210_671

February    York County    SC

image of Ficaria verna ssp. ficariiformis, Fig Buttercup, Lesser Celandine, Pilewort

JK Marlow    jkm140210_676

February    York County    SC

Each bulblet can grow into a new plant once separated from the parent plant.

image of Ficaria verna ssp. ficariiformis, Fig Buttercup, Lesser Celandine, Pilewort

JK Marlow    jkm140211_683

February    Greenville County    SC

Axillary bulbils of ssp. ficariiformis ovoid or globular, per Ranunculus ficaria L. sensu lato (Sell 1994).

image of Ficaria verna ssp. ficariiformis, Fig Buttercup, Lesser Celandine, Pilewort

JK Marlow    jkm140331_608

March    Greenville County    SC

Typically found adjacent to a river, stream, pond, or in other moist areas, per Introduced Lesser Celandine & Its Putative Subspecies in the US: A Morphologic Analysis (Post et al., 2009).

image of Ficaria verna ssp. ficariiformis, Fig Buttercup, Lesser Celandine, Pilewort

JK Marlow    jkm140401_647

April    York County    SC

Reported to be developing into a seriously invasive species in northeast US, per Weakley's Flora.

image of Ficaria verna ssp. ficariiformis, Fig Buttercup, Lesser Celandine, Pilewort

JK Marlow    jkm140401_662b

April    York County    SC

Forms a solid blanket which native plants are unable to penetrate, per Plant Invaders of Mid-Atlantic Natural Areas (Swearingen et al., 2002+).

image of Ficaria verna ssp. ficariiformis, Fig Buttercup, Lesser Celandine, Pilewort

JK Marlow    jkm140401_668

April    York County    SC

Flowers up to 50mm in diameter; petals contiguous or overlapping, per Ranunculus ficaria L. sensu lato (Sell 1994).

image of Ficaria verna ssp. ficariiformis, Fig Buttercup, Lesser Celandine, Pilewort

JK Marlow    jkm140401_709

April    York County    SC

From this point plants have spread downhill and at least 2.5 miles downstream.

 

 

WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Ficaria verna ssp. ficariiformis   FAMILY Ranunculaceae

INCLUDED WITHIN PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Ranunculus ficaria   FAMILY Ranunculaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Ficaria verna ssp. ficariiformis

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 grandiflora

INCLUDED WITHIN Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)
Ranunculus ficaria var. bulbifera

SYNONYMOUS WITH Ranunculus ficaria sensu lato (Sell, 1994)
Ranunculus ficaria ssp. ficariiformis

 

Find by SCIENTIFIC NAME:

3670

Forb
Perennial

Habitat: Disturbed rich forests and bottomlands, mesic suburban forests, lawns, naturalized locally from horticultural plantings, per Weakley's Flora

Non-native: central & western Mediterranean Europe

Rare, naturalized locally from horticultural plantings

map
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.)


INVASIVE

This plant is causing problems in natural areas outside its native range, according to authorities such as:

 

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!



 


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