Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Ranunculales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Caltha palustris var. palustris
FAMILY
Ranunculaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Read more about the look-alike invasive Fig Buttercup.
Learn more about Marsh-marigold from the Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Caltha palustris var. palustris
FAMILY
Ranunculaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Caltha palustris var. palustris
INCLUDED WITHIN Flora of North America
Caltha palustris
INCLUDED WITHIN VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 076-06-001:
Caltha palustris FAMILY Ranunculaceae
INCLUDED WITHIN Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Caltha palustris
COMMON NAME:
Marsh-marigold, Cowslip
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_capaf_001_lvd
)
JK Marlow jkm080421_004
April Haywood County NC
Corneille Bryan Native Garden
)
JK Marlow jkm080421_005
April Haywood County NC
Corneille Bryan Native Garden
Usually 5-6 sepals, petals absent, and numerous stamens, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
)
JK Marlow jkm080421_009
April Haywood County NC
Corneille Bryan Native Garden
)
Tim Spira tps_cpalustris
April
Sometimes confused with the superficially similar [but invasive] Ficaria, per Weakley's Flora (2015).
)
JK Marlow jkm0507g_23
July Pocahontas County WV
Cranberry Glades Botanical Area
Leaves almost round, cordate at the base, toothed but never divided or cleft, per Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998).
)
Dan Whitten sdw_20180703_084636
July Iceland
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Caltha palustris var. palustris
FAMILY
Ranunculaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Caltha palustris var. palustris
FAMILY
Ranunculaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Caltha palustris var. palustris
INCLUDED WITHIN
Flora of North America
Caltha palustris
INCLUDED WITHIN
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 076-06-001:
Caltha palustris
FAMILY
Ranunculaceae
INCLUDED WITHIN
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Caltha palustris
234
Forb
Perennial
Habitat: bogs, wet meadows, seepage swamps, brookbanks, per Weakley's Flora
Native to North Carolina
Rare in NC Mountains
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.)
LEAVES:
Simple
Mostly basal, with some reduced alternate
FLOWER:
Spring/Summer
Yellow
5-6 sepals (usually)
Petals absent
Numerous stamens
Superior ovary
FRUIT:
Spring/Summer
Aggregate of follicles
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Newcomb's Wildflower Guide (Newcomb, 1977) p204
- Wildflowers of the Atlantic Southeast (Cotterman, Waitt, & Weakley, 2019) p248
- Wildflowers of the Eastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1999) p012
- Wild Flowers of NC, 2nd edition (Justice, Bell, & Lindsey, 2005) p072
- Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005) p034
- Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998) p047
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".