Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Ranunculales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Ficaria verna ssp. ficariiformis
FAMILY
Ranunculaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
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.
INCLUDED WITHIN
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Ranunculus ficaria
FAMILY
Ranunculaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Ficaria verna ssp. ficariiformis
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 grandiflora
INCLUDED WITHIN Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)
Ranunculus ficaria var. bulbifera
SYNONYMOUS WITH Ranunculus ficaria sensu lato (Sell, 1994)
Ranunculus ficaria ssp. ficariiformis
COMMON NAME:
Fig Buttercup, Lesser Celandine, Pilewort
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
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USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_rafi_001_lvd
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Sturm, Deutschlands Flora in Abbildungen wik_r_ficaria_sturm59
https://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 (Swearingen et al., 2002+).
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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.
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Ficaria verna ssp. ficariiformis
FAMILY
Ranunculaceae
INCLUDED WITHIN
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Ranunculus ficaria
FAMILY
Ranunculaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Ficaria verna ssp. ficariiformis
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 grandiflora
INCLUDED WITHIN
Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)
Ranunculus ficaria var. bulbifera
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Ranunculus ficaria sensu lato (Sell, 1994)
Ranunculus ficaria ssp. ficariiformis
3670
Forb
Perennial
Habitat: Disturbed rich forests and bottomlands, mesic suburban forests, lawns, naturalized locally from horticultural plantings, per Weakley's Flora
Non-native: central & western Mediterranean Europe
Rare, naturalized locally from horticultural plantings
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
This plant is causing problems in natural areas outside its native range, according to authorities such as:
- Brooklyn Botanic Garden
- Forest Health Assessment & Applied Sciences Team: New Invaders of the Northeast
- Forest Health Assessment & Applied Sciences Team: New Invaders of the Southeast
- Georgia Exotic Pest Plant Council, 2015
- Kentucky Exotic Pest Plant Council, 2013
- Maryland Department of Natural Resources, 1994
- Pennsylvania Dept. of Conservation & Natural Resources
- Plant Conservation Alliance
- SC Exotic Pest Plant Council, 2014
- SC List of Regulated Pest Plant Species, 2017
- Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, 2014
- Washington State Noxious Weed Control Board
- Wisconsin Dept. of Natural Resources
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!
- Invasive Plants, Guide to Identification, Impacts and Control (Kaufman & Kaufman, 2007) p243
- New Invaders of the Northeast and Northcentral US (Rawlins et al., 2018) p087
- New Invaders of the Southeast (Rawlins et al., 2018) p087
- Wildflowers of the Atlantic Southeast (Cotterman, Waitt, & Weakley, 2019) p276
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