Read more about the insidiously invasive Fig Buttercup.
Read about its first documented sighting in South Carolina.
More from the Plant Conservation Alliance.
More from Pennsylvania DCNR.
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.