Unknown Escapee with Yellow Flowers

6 years ago

These glabrous plants were spreading from a yard into a ditch. They had short rhizomes and also appeared to be spreading by seed. Clumps were about 50 cm tall. Leaves had hollow, flattened petioles that were grooved on one side, broadly winged at the base, and ranged to 25 cm long. Blades were reticulate veined, had rounded tips, undulate margins, cordate bases, dark green and glossy surfaces above, medium green and glossy below, and ranged to 8 cm long by 7 cm wide. The striking flowers averaged 4 cm across, had 3 sepals and 8 petals. Sepals were strongly cupped and greenish-yellow. Petals were bright yellowish-green, quite glossy, and had crown-shaped patterns toward the base on both surfaces. Flowers had about 30 stamens and 20+ styles/ovaries that were covered with bright yellow pollen.

These are surely non-native, and have escaped to distances of around 50 yds. Since there are large distances between some clumps, the seed appears to be viable.

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jekeesl (south-central Arkansas)
Original Author

6 years ago

Thanks floral. I did collect a specimen to let our Arkansas botanists know that this is loose in the wild. It appeared to be capable of spreading by seed, bulbils, and tubers as you said (photo follows). This one could be very tough to eradicate.

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Comments (10)

dbarron
6 years ago
Smacks of Ranunculus doesn't it ?
User
6 years ago
It looks a lot like Ranunculus ficaria. A good description and pictures here: https://digthedunes.com/beware-the-fig-buttercup-a-new-found-in-the-dunes/
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jekeesl (south-central Arkansas)
Original Author
6 years ago
Yes, I just keyed it out with Weakley and found Ficaria verna, which appears to be a match. Thanks both for your help.
User
6 years ago
Oops, I didn't realize that syn. was being more commonly used now.
dbarron
6 years ago
I can't keep up, so I don't try :0
floral_uk z.8/9 SW UK
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago
It's Lesser Celandine, formerly Ranunculus ficaria, now Ficaria verna. Whatever you do, do not be tempted to introduce it into your garden. It's native here but still an absolute pest in the garden. It spreads by seed, tuber and also bulbils in the leaf axils. A spring ephemeral. The leaves will disappear in summer but they will be back.
floral_uk z.8/9 SW UK
6 years ago
It was a native plant on the land where my house is built and it's still vigorously claiming its land rights in my garden....... two centuries later.
weedwoman
6 years ago
It's very pretty but It's a thug. Around here it makes a solid cover over any damp, shady ground in the spring, and it's one of the earliest flowers to bloom. The only good things about it are that it IS an ephemeral, so it completely dies back by summer; and it's low; larger herbaceous plants like skunk cabbage can grow up through it. Of course where I live is pretty much a living
encyclopedia of invasive weeds, but this one is tough even by those standards.

Northeastern NJ in April
fatamorgana2121
6 years ago
Thought you might enjoy: https://www.lhprism.org/blog/invasive-lesser-celandine-vs-native-marsh-marigold