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. verna   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. 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.

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

JK Marlow    jkm140120_531

January    Greenville County    SC

Lake Conestee Nature Park

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

JK Marlow    jkm140120_537

January    Greenville County    SC

Lake Conestee Nature Park

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

JK Marlow    jkm140208_639

February    Greenville County    SC

Lake Conestee Nature Park

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

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.

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

JK Marlow    jkm140208_657

February    Greenville County    SC

Lake Conestee Nature Park

Sprouting bulblets (the tiny new leaves are about 1/4", or less).

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

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).

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

JK Marlow    jkm150321_839

March    Greenville County    SC

Lake Conestee Nature Park

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

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.

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

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+).

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

JK Marlow    jkm160331_193

March    Greenville County    SC

Riparian zone along urban waterway

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

JK Marlow    jkm160331_197

March    Greenville County    SC

Riparian zone along urban waterway

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

JK Marlow    jkm160331_199

March    Greenville County    SC

Riparian zone along urban waterway

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

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+).

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

JK Marlow    jkm130409_099b

April    Greenville County    SC

Lake Conestee Nature Park

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

JK Marlow    jkm130409_102b

April    Greenville County    SC

Lake Conestee Nature Park

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

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).

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

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.

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

JK Marlow    jkm130409_113b

April    Greenville County    SC

Lake Conestee Nature Park

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

JK Marlow    jkm130409_122b

April    Greenville County    SC

Lake Conestee Nature Park

Fig Buttercup and Pennywort.

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

JK Marlow    jkm130409_162b

April    Greenville County    SC

Lake Conestee Nature Park

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

JK Marlow    jkm130409_165b

April    Greenville County    SC

Lake Conestee Nature Park

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

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.

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

JK Marlow    jkm130409_200b

April    Greenville County    SC

Lake Conestee Nature Park

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

JK Marlow    jkm130409_206b

April    Greenville County    SC

Lake Conestee Nature Park

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

JK Marlow    jkm130409_212b

April    Greenville County    SC

Lake Conestee Nature Park

Isolated rosettes can be hard to spot.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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).

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

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).


click here to see other plants that look similar to this COMPARE fruits that are an aggregate of achenes

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

JK Marlow    jkm130415_359

April    Greenville County    SC

Lake Conestee Nature Park

Fig Buttercup and Liriope.

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

JK Marlow    jkm150422_397

April    Jackson County    NC

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

JK Marlow    jkm150422_422

April    Jackson County    NC

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

JK Marlow    jkm150422_424

April    Jackson County    NC

Fig Buttercup and Daylily.

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

JK Marlow    jkm150422_432

April    Jackson County    NC

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

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).

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

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).

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

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.

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

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.

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

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

 

Find by SCIENTIFIC NAME:

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

map
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.


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!



 


Find by SCIENTIFIC NAME: