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Lesser Celandine

Lesser Celandine

Ficaria verna

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How common: Very common

Lesser Celandine is a small spring flower with shiny, heart-shaped leaves and bright yellow, star-like blooms. It appears very early, brightening woods and parks before many trees leaf out. Often planted as groundcover, it can also spread on its own in suitable places.

Did you know?

  • One of the first wildflowers of spring; it often dies back above ground by early summer.
  • It can spread by tiny round bulbils that form where the leaf meets the stem.

About the species

Identification

A low perennial 10–20 cm tall with smooth, upright stems. Leaves on long stalks are shiny, thick, heart-based and broadly oval to triangular with wavy edges; often small round bulbils where the leaf meets the stem. Flowers are single on the stems, 2–3 cm across, bright yellow with 7–12 narrow glossy petals. After flowering it forms small hairy seeds. Easy to tell from yellow buttercups: it blooms earlier, has many more narrow petals, and has shiny heart-shaped leaves. Flowers in Finland from April to June.

Plant group

Herbaceous plants

Habitat

herb-rich forest

Flowering

Apr–Jun

About the habitat

Grows in moist, nutrient-rich, often shady places such as stream and river valleys, coastal groves, wet meadows, thickets, and in parks and gardens. Mainly in southern Finland.

Sources

Photo: R Mitchell, CC BY 4.0 https://www.gbif.org/occurrence/5938196615

Text: Pinkka: Luomuksen 100 lajia -haaste: kasvit - Lehdot ja puutarhat, CC BY 4.0 https://laji.fi/taxon/MX.37924

Text: Wikipedia (Finnish), CC BY-SA 4.0 https://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mukulaleinikki

See also