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.
Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Ranunculales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA (11/30/12):
Ficaria verna ssp. ficariiformis
FAMILY
Ranunculaceae
LESS THAN
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Ranunculus ficaria var. bulbifera
FAMILY
Ranunculaceae
LESS THAN
Britton & Brown Illus Flora of Northeast US & adjacent Canada (Gleason, 1952)
Ranunculus ficaria
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Ranunculus ficaria sensu lato (Sell 1994)
Ranunculus ficaria ssp. ficariiformis
COMMON NAME:
Fig Buttercup, Lesser Celandine, Pilewort
Click or hover over the thumbnails to see larger pictures.
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Sturm, Deutschlands Flora in Abbildungen wik_r_ficaria_sturm59
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ranunculus_ficaria_Sturm59.jpg
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JK Marlow jkm140123_552
January Greenville County SC
Riparian zone along urban waterway
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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).
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JK Marlow jkm140123_557
January Greenville County SC
Riparian zone along urban waterway
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JK Marlow jkm140123_563
January Greenville County SC
Plants were found in the scour zone and on a ledge above this urban creek.
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JK Marlow jkm140124_584
January Greenville County SC
Some of the tubers caught by a colander after washing the specimens.
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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.
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JK Marlow jkm140201_612
February York County SC
Riparian zone along urban waterway
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JK Marlow jkm140201_614
February York County SC
Riparian zone along urban waterway
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JK Marlow jkm140201_615
February York County SC
Riparian zone along urban waterway
Anecdotal observation: Petioles stout, grooved, not round in cross-section.
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JK Marlow jkm140201_617
February York County SC
Riparian zone along urban waterway
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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).
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JK Marlow jkm140210_671
February York County SC
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JK Marlow jkm140210_676
February York County SC
Each bulblet can grow into a new plant once separated from the parent plant.
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JK Marlow jkm140211_683
February Greenville County SC
Axillary bulbils of ssp. ficariiformis ovoid or globular, per Ranunculus ficaria L. sensu lato (Sell 1994).
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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).
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JK Marlow jkm140401_647
April York County SC
Reported to be developing into a seriously invasive species in northeast US, per Weakley's Flora.
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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.
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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).
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JK Marlow jkm140401_709
April York County SC
From this point plants have spread downhill and at least 2.5 miles downstream.