View source for Ficaria verna

{{Short description|Species of flowering plant in the buttercup family (Ranunculaceae)}}
{{for|the greater celandine|Chelidonium majus}}
{{Speciesbox
|name = Lesser celandine
|image = Flowers_(2425723494)_cropped.jpg
|taxon = Ficaria verna
|authority = [[William Hudson (botanist)|Huds.]] 1762<ref name=ThePlantList>{{ThePlantList|id=kew-2809356|Ficaria verna}}</ref><ref name=GRIN>{{GRIN|''Ficaria verna''}}</ref>
|synonyms_ref=<ref name=ThePlantList/>
|synonyms=
{{collapsible list|bullets = true
|title=Synonyms
|''Caltha hiranoi'' <small>Tamura</small>
|''Chelidonium minus'' <small>Garsault [Invalid]</small>
|''Ficaria ambigua'' <small>Boreau</small>
|''Ficaria aperta'' <small>Schur</small>
|''Ficaria boryi'' <small>Heldr. ex Nyman</small>
|''Ficaria bulbifera'' <small>(Á.Löve & D.Löve) Holub</small>
|''Ficaria communis'' <small>Dum.Cours.</small>
|''Ficaria degenii'' <small>Harv.</small>
|''Ficaria ficaria'' <small>(L.) H.Karst. [Invalid]</small>
|''Ficaria holubyi'' <small>Schur</small>
|''Ficaria intermedia'' <small>Schur</small>
|''Ficaria peloponnesiaca'' <small>Nyman</small>
|''Ficaria polypetala'' <small>Gilib. [Invalid]</small>
|''Ficaria pumila'' <small>Velen. ex Bornm.</small>
|''Ficaria ranunculiflora'' <small>Moench ex St.-Lag.</small>
|''Ficaria ranunculoides'' <small>Roth [Illegitimate]</small>
|''Ficaria robertii'' <small>F.W.Schultz</small>
|''Ficaria rotundifolia'' <small>Schur</small>
|''Ficaria stepporum'' <small>P.A.Smirn.</small>
|''Ficaria transsilvanica'' <small>Schur</small>
|''Ficaria varia'' <small>Otsch.</small>
|''Ficaria vulgaris'' <small>J.St.-Hil.</small>
|''Ranunculus ficaria'' <small>L.</small>
}}}}

'''''Ficaria verna''''' (formerly '''''Ranunculus ficaria''''' {{small|[[Carl Linnaeus|L.]]}}), commonly known as '''lesser celandine''' or '''pilewort''',<ref name=BSBI07>{{BSBI 2007 |access-date=2014-10-17 }}</ref> is a low-growing, hairless perennial [[flowering plant]] in the buttercup family [[Ranunculaceae]]. It has fleshy dark green, heart-shaped leaves and distinctive flowers with bright yellow, glossy petals.<ref name = kooi>[https://www.researchgate.net/publication/314251397_Functional_optics_of_glossy_buttercup_flowers Functional optics of glossy buttercup flowers] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220630165257/https://www.researchgate.net/publication/314251397_Functional_optics_of_glossy_buttercup_flowers |date=2022-06-30 }} Journal of the Royal Society Interface 14:20160933</ref><ref name = newscientist>[https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg23331142-400-buttercups-focus-light-to-heat-their-flowers-and-attract-insects/ Buttercups focus light to heat their flowers and attract insects] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190404142750/https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg23331142-400-buttercups-focus-light-to-heat-their-flowers-and-attract-insects/ |date=2019-04-04 }} New Scientist 25 February 2017</ref> Native to Europe and Western Asia, it is now introduced in North America, where it is known by the common name '''fig buttercup''' and considered an [[invasive species]].<ref>{{Cite web|title = Weed of the Week - Lesser Celandine|url = https://extension.umd.edu/learn/weed-week-lesser-celandine|access-date = 2016-02-12|publisher = University of Maryland Extension|archive-date = 2016-03-02|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160302020104/https://extension.umd.edu/learn/weed-week-lesser-celandine|url-status = dead}}</ref><ref name="washington_state">{{Cite web|url = http://www.nwcb.wa.gov/detail.asp?weed=185|title = Lesser celandine, Ficaria verna|access-date = 12 February 2016|publisher = Washington State Noxious Weed Control Board|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160324080851/http://www.nwcb.wa.gov/detail.asp?weed=185|archive-date = 24 March 2016|url-status = dead}}</ref><ref>{{PLANTS|id = RAFI|taxon = Ranunculus ficaria|access-date = 18 October 2015}}</ref><ref name="aphis2016">{{Cite web|url=https://www.aphis.usda.gov/sites/default/files/ficaria-verna.pdf |title=Weed Risk Assessment for Ficaria verna Huds (Ranunculaceae) – Fig buttercup |date=August 12, 2015 |access-date=12 February 2016 |website=Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service |publisher=United States Department of Agriculture |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160216232708/https://www.aphis.usda.gov/plant_health/plant_pest_info/weeds/downloads/wra/ficaria-verna.pdf |archive-date=16 February 2016 }}</ref>  The plant is poisonous if ingested raw and potentially fatal to grazing animals and livestock, such as horses, cattle, and sheep.<ref name="post&krings-etal">{{cite journal |title=Introduced Lesser Celandine (Ranunculus Ficaria, Ranunculaceae) And Its Putative Subspecies In The United States: A Morphometric Analysis |jstor=41972152 |journal=Journal of the Botanical Research Institute of Texas |date=2009-01-01 |pages=193–209 |volume=3 |issue=1 |first1=Angela R. |last1=Post |author1-link=<!--Angela R. Post--> |first2=Alexander |last2=Krings |author2-link=<!--Alexander Krings--> |first3=Wade A. |last3=Wall |author3-link=<!--Wade A. Wall --> |first4=Joseph C. |last4=Neal |author4-link=<!--Joseph C. Neal -->}}</ref> For these reasons, several US states have banned the plant or listed it as a [[noxious weed]].<ref name="washington_state" /><ref>{{cite web |title=6 NYCRR Part 575 Prohibited and Regulated Invasive Species Express Terms - NYS Dept. of Environmental Conservation |url=http://www.dec.ny.gov/regulations/93848.html |website=www.dec.ny.gov |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160302015724/http://www.dec.ny.gov/regulations/93848.html |archive-date=2016-03-02 |access-date=<!--2016-02-12-->}} Revised  {{URL|1=https://www.dec.ny.gov/docs/lands_forests_pdf/islist.pdf |2=pdf copy}} (updated 10 September 2014)</ref> It prefers bare, damp ground and is considered by horticulturalists in the United Kingdom as a persistent garden weed;<ref name="bond&davies&turner">{{cite journal |url=https://www.gardenorganic.org.uk/sites/www.gardenorganic.org.uk/files/organic-weeds/ranunculus-ficaria.pdf |title=The biology and non-chemical control of Lesser Celandine (Ranunculus ficaria L.) |last1=Bond |first1=W |author1-link=<!----> |date=November 2007 |journal=Ryton Organic Gardens |access-date=12 February 2016 |last2=Davies |first2=G |first3=R |last3=Turner |department=Henry Doubleday Research Association |archive-date=2 February 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202001926/https://www.gardenorganic.org.uk/sites/www.gardenorganic.org.uk/files/organic-weeds/ranunculus-ficaria.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Invasion of the soil snatchers |url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2001/apr/22/gardens |newspaper=The Guardian |date=2001-04-22 |access-date=2016-02-12 |issn=0261-3077 |language=en-GB |first=Monty |last=Don}}</ref> nevertheless, many specialist [[Plantsman|plantsmen]], nursery owners and discerning gardeners in the UK and Europe collect selected [[cultivar]]s of the plant, including bronze-leaved and double-flowered ones. Emerging in late winter with flowers appearing late February through May in the UK, its appearance across the landscape is regarded by many as a harbinger of [[Spring (season)|spring]].<ref name="bond&davies&turner" />

==Description==
[[File:Ranunculus ficaria Sturm59.jpg|thumb]]
Lesser celandine is a hairless [[perennial plant]] to about {{convert|25|cm|abbr=on}} high, growing in clumps of 4-10 short stems, on which the leaves are spirally-arranged or all basal. The [[Petiole (botany)|leaf stalks]] have sheathing bases, no [[stipule]]s, a groove along their upper surface, and two hollows within. The leaves are [[leaf shape|cordate]], {{convert|1-4|cm|abbr=on}} across, dark-green above with a distinctive [[variegation|variegated]] or mottled pattern, and pale green below. Purple-leaved varieties are common. The margins of the leaves are sometimes entire (rounded) but more often angled or weakly lobed, with [[hydathode]]s at the tips. There are two types of roots: dense clusters of thick, pale-coloured elongated [[tuber]]s surrounded by patches of short, [[Fibrous root system|fibrous]] roots. Some clumps give rise to long stolons to {{convert|10|cm|abbr=on}} or more, allowing vegetative spread to produce extensive carpets of plants.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Poland |first1=John |last2=Clement |first2=Eric |title=The Vegetative Key to the British Flora |date=2009 |publisher=John Poland |location=Southampton |isbn=978-0-9560144-0-5}}</ref>

[[File:Ficaria verna bud.jpg|thumb|Closed-up flowerhead of lesser celandine, showing the sepals and outside of the petals.]]
It produces large [[actinomorphic]] (radially symmetrical) flowers with a diameter of up to {{convert|3-5|cm|abbr=on}}, on long [[Pedicel (botany)|stalks]] arising individually from the leaf axils or in loose [[cyme (botany)|cymes]] at the top of the stem. There are no [[bract]]s. The flowers have a whorl of 3 sepaloid [[tepals]] and 7 to 12 glossy<ref name="kooi" /> yellow petaloid tepals, which are sometimes tinged purple or grey on the back. Double flowered varieties also occur. The [[stamen]]s and [[carpel]]s are numerous, and the fruit is a single-seeded, shortly hairy [[achene]] with a very short [[Style (botany)|style]]. In several subspecies, tubers are formed in the leaf axils after flowering.<ref name="Stace">{{cite book |last=Stace |first=C. A. |author-link=Stace, C. A. |year=2010 |title=New Flora of the British Isles |edition=3rd |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge, U.K. |isbn=9780521707725}}</ref>{{rp|118}} It blooms between March and May in the UK.<ref name=Readers>{{cite book |year=1981 |title=Reader's Digest Field Guide to the Wild Flowers of Britain |page=26 |publisher=[[Reader's Digest]] |isbn=9780276002175}}</ref>

==Distribution==
''Ficaria verna'' [[Sensu|''sensu lato'']] is native to central Europe, north Africa and the [[Caucasus]]. It has been introduced into Iceland and North America.<ref name=powo>{{cite web |url=https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:712703-1 |title=''Ranunculus ficaria'' L. |work=Plants of the World Online |publisher=Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew |accessdate=21 March 2023 |archive-date=8 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230408195431/https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:712703-1 |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Life cycle==
[[File:20150315Ficaria verna3.jpg|left|thumb|Flowers appear in early spring]]
Lesser celandine grows on land that is seasonally wet or flooded, especially in sandy soils, but is not found in permanently waterlogged sites.<ref name="axtel&ditommaso&post">{{Cite journal|title = Lesser Celandine (Ranunculus ficaria): A Threat to Woodland Habitats in the Northern United States and Southern Canada|url = http://wssajournals.org/doi/full/10.1614/IPSM-D-09-00044.1|journal = Invasive Plant Science and Management|date = 2010-04-01|issn = 1939-7291|pages = 190–196|volume = 3|issue = 2|doi = 10.1614/IPSM-D-09-00044.1|first1 = Annie E.|last1 = Axtell|first2 = Antonio|last2 = DiTommaso|first3 = Angela R.|last3 = Post|s2cid = 925729|doi-access = free}}{{Dead link|date=December 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> In both shaded woodlands and open areas, ''Ficaria verna'' begins growth in the winter when temperatures are low and days are short.<ref name="GISD" /> The plants mostly propagate and spread [[Vegetative reproduction|vegetatively]],<ref name="sohrabi_kertabad-etal">{{Cite journal|title = Some biological aspects of the weed Lesser celandine (Ranunculus ficaria)|journal = Planta Daninha|issn = 0100-8358|pages = 577–585|volume = 31|issue = 3|doi = 10.1590/S0100-83582013000300010|first1 = S.|last1 = Sohrabi Kertabad|first2 = M. H.|last2 = Rashed Mohassel|first3 = M.|last3 = Nasiri Mahalati|first4 = J.|last4 = Gherekhloo|year = 2013|doi-access = free}}</ref> although some subspecies are capable of producing up to 73 seeds per flower.<ref name="bond&davies&turner" /> [[Germination]] of seeds begins in the spring, and continues into summer.<ref name="bond&davies&turner" /> Seedlings remain small for their first year, producing only one or two leaves until the second year.<ref name="bond&davies&turner" />

Growth and reproduction is poor in dry or acidic conditions, though the plants can handle drought well once [[dormancy|dormant]].<ref name="bond&davies&turner" /> By emerging before the forest [[Canopy (biology)|canopy]] leafs out, ''Ficaria verna'' is able to take advantage of the higher levels of sunlight reaching the [[forest floor]] during late winter and early spring.<ref name="pca" /> By late spring, second year plants quickly age as daylight hours lengthen and temperatures rise.<ref name="bond&davies&turner" /> By the end of May, foliage has died back and plants enter a six month dormancy phase.<ref name="sohrabi_kertabad-etal" />

If disturbed, separation of the plant's numerous basal tubers is an efficient means of vegetative propagation.<ref name="GISD" /> The plants are easily spread if the prolific tubers are unearthed and scattered by digging activities of some animals and humans.<ref name="pca" /><ref name="bond&davies&turner" /> Erosion and flood events are particularly effective means of spread, as the plants are very successful at colonizing low-lying floodplains once deposited.<ref name="GISD">{{GISD | 844 | ''Ranunculus ficaria'' L. | accessdate = 11 February 2016 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url = http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/cs/groups/public/documents/document/dcnr_010251.pdf|archive-url = https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20150303081420/http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/cs/groups/public/documents/document/dcnr_010251.pdf|url-status = dead|archive-date = March 3, 2015|title = Lesser Celandine|access-date = 12 February 2016|website = Invasive Plants in Pennsylvania|publisher = [[Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources]]}}</ref>

[[File:Ranunculus ficaria Roots.jpg|left|thumb|Typical root tubers: these structures separate easily and can become new plants, allowing the plant to colonize new areas rapidly|225x225px]] [[File:Lesser-Celandine Bulbils Close-Up1.jpg|left|thumb|Bulbils form in the leaf axils of some subspecies after flowering|225x225px]]
''Ficaria verna'' exists in both [[diploid]] (2n=16) and [[tetraploid]] (2n=32) forms which are very similar in appearance.<ref name="bond&davies&turner" /> However, the tetraploid types prefer more shady locations and can develop up to 24 [[Bulb#Bulbil|bulbils]] at the base of the stalk.<ref name="bond&davies&turner" /><ref name="sohrabi_kertabad-etal" /> Subspecies ''F. verna ''ssp''. verna,'' and ''F. verna ''ssp''. ficariiformis'' are tetraploid and capable of colonizing new areas much faster because they produce bulbils in their leaf axils<ref name="Stace4">{{cite book|last=Stace|first=C. A.|author-link = Stace, C. A.|year=2019|title=New Flora of the British Isles|edition=Fourth|publisher=C & M Floristics|location = Middlewood Green, Suffolk, U.K.| isbn=978-1-5272-2630-2}}</ref>{{rp|126}}<ref name="sohrabi_kertabad-etal" /> in addition to root tubers. Subspecies ''F. verna calthifolia'' and ''F. verna verna'' are diploid<ref name="post&krings-etal" /><ref>{{Cite web|title = Ficaria verna Huds.|url = http://www.tropicos.org/Name/27101265?tab=subordinatetaxa|website = www.tropicos.org|access-date = 2016-02-12|archive-date = 2016-04-18|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160418223328/http://www.tropicos.org/Name/27101265?tab=subordinatetaxa|url-status = live}}</ref> and hybrids between subspecies often create sterile [[triploid]] forms.<ref name="post&krings-etal" />

==Ecology==
Lesser celandine is pollinated by bees, small beetles, and flies, including ''[[Apis mellifera]]'', ''[[Bibio johannis]]'', ''[[Phora (fly)|Phora]]'', and ''[[Meligethes]]''. The larvae of ''[[Olindia schumacherana]]'' feed on the leaves.<ref name="biological flora">{{cite journal | vauthors=((Taylor, K.)), ((Markham, B.)) | journal=Journal of Ecology | title=Ranunculus Ficaria L. (Ficaria verna Huds.; F. Ranunculoides Moench) | volume=66 | issue=3 | pages=1011–1031 | publisher=[Wiley, British Ecological Society] | date= 1978 | issn=0022-0477 | doi=10.2307/2259310}}</ref>

It associates with [[arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi]].<ref name="biological flora"></ref>

===Fungal and oomycetous pathogens===
[[File:Pathogens of Ficaria verna Huds.png|thumb|upright=2.0|An illustration showing some of the fungal and oomycetous pathogens that infect ''Ficaria verna''.]]
The leaves are parasitised by the [[chytrid fungus]] ''[[Synchytrium anomalum]]''; the [[rust fungi]] ''[[Schroeteriaster alpinus]]'', ''[[Uromyces ficariae]]'', ''[[Uromyces poae|U. poae]]'', and ''[[Uromyces rumicis|U. rumicis]]''; the [[smut fungi]] ''[[Entyloma ficariae]]'' and ''[[Urocystis ficariae]]''; the [[leaf spot]] fungi ''[[Septoria ficariae]]'' and ''[[Colletotrichum dematium]]''; the [[Botrytis (fungus)|grey mould]] ''[[Botrytis ficariarum]]''; and the [[downy mildew]] ''[[Peronospora ficariae]]''.<ref name="biological flora"></ref><ref name="bladmineerders">{{cite web | vauthors=((Ellis, W. N.)) | year=2024 | title=Ficaria verna | website=bladmineerders.nl | url=https://bladmineerders.nl/host-plants/plantae/spermatopsida/angiosperma/eudicots/ranunculales/ranunculaceae/ranunculoideae/ranunculeae/ranunculus/ficaria-verna/ | access-date=20 December 2024 | archive-date=16 December 2024 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241216165454/https://bladmineerders.nl/host-plants/plantae/spermatopsida/angiosperma/eudicots/ranunculales/ranunculaceae/ranunculoideae/ranunculeae/ranunculus/ficaria-verna/ | url-status=live }}</ref>

The roots are parasitised by the fungi ''[[Botryotinia ficariarum]]'' (the [[anamorph]] of which is ''Botrytis ficariarum'') and ''[[Dumontinia tuberosa]]''.<ref name="bladmineerders"></ref>

===As an invasive species===
[[File:Ranunculus_ficaria,_Fox_Chapel,_2015-04-18,_01.jpg|left|thumb|As an invasive species it forms a dense carpet in a floodplain forest in Fox Chapel, Pennsylvania|225x225px]]
In many parts of the Eastern and Northwestern United States and Canada, lesser celandine is cited as an [[invasive species]].<ref name="axtel&ditommaso&post" /> It poses a threat to native wildflowers, especially those ephemeral flowers with a spring-flowering lifecycle.<ref name="GISD" /> Since ''Ficaria verna'' emerges well before most native species, it has a developmental advantage which allows it to establish and dominate natural areas rapidly.<ref name="pca" /> It is mainly a problem in forested floodplains, where it forms extensive mats, but can occur on upland sites as well.<ref name="pca">{{cite web|url = http://www.nps.gov/plants/alien/fact/rafi1.htm|title = Lesser Celandine|work = Plant Invaders of Mid-Atlantic Natural Areas|author = Swearingen, J.|author2 = K. Reshetiloff|author3 = B. Slattery|author4 = S. Zwicker|name-list-style = amp|year = 2002|publisher = National Park Service and U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Washington, D.C|access-date = 2013-04-22|archive-date = 2013-04-13|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130413173325/http://www.nps.gov/planTs/alien/fact/rafi1.htm|url-status = dead}}</ref> Once established, native plants are displaced and ground is left barren and susceptible to erosion, from June to February, during the plant's six-month [[dormancy]] phase.<ref>{{Cite web|title = Alien Plant Invader: Lesser celandine|url = http://www.portlandoregon.gov/bes/article/482080?archive=2014-02|website = The City of Portland, Oregon|access-date = 2016-02-13}}</ref>

In the United States, where lesser celandine is considered a plant pest to gardens, lawns, and natural areas, many governmental agencies have attempted to slow the spread of this species with limited success.<ref name="aphis2016" /> As of 2014, the species was reported to be invasive and established in 25 states.<ref>{{Cite web|url = https://www.eddmaps.org/distribution/usstate.cfm?sub=3069|title = Lesser celandine - US States Distribution|date = 20 June 2014|access-date = 12 February 2016|website = Early Detection & Distribution Mapping System|publisher = The University of Georgia - Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health|via = EDDMapS|archive-date = 25 September 2015|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150925041504/http://www.eddmaps.org/distribution/usstate.cfm?sub=3069|url-status = live}}</ref> USDA [[Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service|APHIS]] considers ''Ficaria verna'' to be a high-risk weed that could spread across 79% of the United States, anticipating possible impacts to [[Threatened species|threatened]] and [[Endangered species|endangered]] [[Riparian zone|riparian]] species.<ref name="aphis2016" /> The U.S. National Park Service's Plant Conservation Alliance recommends avoiding planting lesser celandine, and instead planting native ephemeral wildflowers such as ''[[Asarum canadense]]'', [[Sanguinaria canadensis|bloodroot]], the native [[twinleaf]] (''Jeffersonia diphylla''), and various species of ''[[Trillium]]'' as alternatives.<ref name="pca" />

==As a garden plant==
[[Christopher Lloyd (gardener)|Christopher Lloyd]] is one of several horticulturists who have recommended one of the double-flowered Flore Pleno Group for planting at the base of a hedge next to a lawn.<ref>Lloyd, Christopher. 1970,1985. The Well-Tempered Garden. London, Penguin Books. 81.</ref> ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]'' has even given advice on how to plant them, provided by the [[Royal Horticultural Society]].<ref>{{cite web|url = https://www.telegraph.co.uk/gardening/gardenprojects/3337428/Your-garden-this-week-planting-celandines-and-dividing-perennials.html|title = Your garden this week: planting celandines and dividing perennials|date = 25 March 2006|access-date = 4 April 2019|website = www.telegraph.co.uk|publisher = The Telegraph|archive-date = 4 April 2019|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190404171721/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/gardening/gardenprojects/3337428/Your-garden-this-week-planting-celandines-and-dividing-perennials.html|url-status = live}}</ref> Double-flowered plants were noted as long ago as 1625 when one was found by [[John Ray]].<ref>{{cite web|url = https://www.thewildflowersociety.com/wfs_articles/february_article.htm|title = February Celandines (Ficaria verna)|access-date = 4 April 2019|website = www.thewildflowersociety.com|publisher = The Wild Flower Society|archive-date = 4 April 2019|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190404172133/https://www.thewildflowersociety.com/wfs_articles/february_article.htm|url-status = live}}</ref> The RHS specialist quarterly publication ''[[The Plantsman]]'' published a lengthy, well-illustrated article on double-flowered lesser celandine cultivars by Belgian gardener and alpine plant specialist Wim Boens in December 2017.<ref name="PlantsmanBoens">{{Cite journal|title = Double -flowered celandines|journal = The Plantsman|date = December 2017|issn = 1477-5298|pages = 249–255|volume = 16|number = 4|publisher = Royal Horticultural Society |first = Wim|last = Boens}}</ref> "RHS Plant Finder" online lists around 220 named cultivars (many of these may well be very similar; nevertheless, this indicates the interest in the species among gardeners).

===Recommended cultivars===

Sources:<ref>{{cite web|url = http://www.johnjearrard.co.uk/plants/ficariaverna/genus.html|title = Ficaria verna|access-date = 4 April 2019|website = www.johnjearrard.co.uk|publisher = John Jearrard|archive-date = 4 April 2019|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190404171622/http://www.johnjearrard.co.uk/plants/ficariaverna/genus.html|url-status = live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|title = Ficaria verna, a weedy menace? The double flowered lesser celandine|url = http://www.srgc.org.uk/logs/logdir/2017Apr271493318724IRG88.pdf|journal = International Rock Gardener|date = April 2017|issn = 2053-7557|pages = 2–21|volume = 88|access-date = 4 April 2019|publisher = Scottish Rock Garden Club|first = Wim|last = Boens|archive-date = 12 July 2020|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200712141905/http://www.srgc.org.uk/logs/logdir/2017Apr271493318724IRG88.pdf|url-status = live}}</ref><ref name="PlantsmanBoens" />

(Double-flowered and semi-double cultivars are unlikely to be invasive as they either cannot set seed or do not often do so. Semi-doubles may occasionally cross with single cultivars, which is probably how some of the most desirable cultivars originally arose.)

* Alba Group (cream to white flowers; foliage green or variously mottled with silver and occasional splashes of purple)
* Brambling (unremarkable yellow flowers; grown for its small triangular or horseshoe-shaped leaves beautifully mottled with silver-grey and purple-brown)
* Brazen Hussy (bright yellow flowers; glossy dark bronze foliage)
* Collarette (golden yellow double flowers with neat, button-like centres, green in the middle, and a gappy ring of outer petals; silvery-green leaves often with a central streak or splash of purple-black)
* Coppernob (bright orange, single flowers; glossy dark bronze foliage) 
* Double Bronze (syns. Bowles's Double, Wisley Double) (semi-double rich yellow flowers with reddish-bronze reverse; green foliage streaked with silver)
* Double Mud (semi-double flowers, cream petals, muddy purple-brown on the reverse; green foliage mottled with silver)
* Flore Pleno Group (fully double yellow flowers, green or greenish purple on the reverse making a neat rounded centre; foliage pale green or dappled with silver)
* Green Petal (a curiosity with small double flowers resembling greenish-yellow roses; distinctive green foliage splashed silver, purple and bronze)
* Ken Aslet Double (syn. Ken Aslet) (sterile, fully double white, cream at centre, dark purplish reverse to the petals; plain green or slightly mottled foliage)
* Salmon's White (single flowers open cream, fading almost to white, purplish-blue on reverse; dark green foliage splashed silver and black)
<gallery>
File:White- and yellow-flowered lesser celandines.jpg|Alba Group
File:Ranunculus ficaria 'Brambling' 03.jpg|'Brambling'
File:BrazenHussy.jpg|'Brazen Hussy'
File:Ficaria Collarette.jpg|'Collarette'
File:Coppernob.jpg|'Coppernob'
File:Double-flowered lesser celandine.jpg|Flore Pleno Group
File:Ranunculus ficaria Salmons White.jpg|'Salmon's White'
</gallery>

==Toxicity==
All plants of the buttercup family (Ranunculaceae) contain a compound known as [[protoanemonin]].<ref name="Hager">{{cite book|editor1-first=PH|editor1-last=List|editor2-first=L|editor2-last=Hörhammer|title=Hagers Handbuch der pharmazeutischen Praxis|edition=4th|publisher=Springer Verlag|year=1979|language=de|isbn=3-540-07738-3}}</ref> When the plant is wounded, the unstable [[glucoside]] [[ranunculin]] turns into the toxin protoanemonin.<ref name="lewis" /> Contact with damaged or crushed ''Ficaria'' leaves can cause itching, rashes or blistering on the skin or [[mucosa]].<ref>{{Cite book|title = Contact Dermatitis|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=ZsWAjwed26EC|publisher = Springer Science & Business Media|date = 2006-06-07|isbn = 9783540313014|language = en|first1 = Peter J.|last1 = Frosch|first2 = Torkil|last2 = Menne|first3 = Jean-Pierre|last3 = Lepoittevin|page = 779}}</ref> Ingesting the toxin can cause [[nausea]], vomiting, [[dizziness]], [[spasm]]s, or [[paralysis]].<ref name="lewis">{{Cite book|title = Lewis' Dictionary of Toxicology|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=caTqdbD7j4AC|publisher = CRC Press|date = 1998-03-23|isbn = 9781566702232|language = en|first = Robert Alan|last = Lewis}}</ref> In one case, a patient experienced acute hepatitis and jaundice when taking untreated lesser celandine extracts internally as an herbal remedy for [[hemorrhoids]].<ref>{{Cite journal|title = Lesser Celandine (Pilewort) Induced Acute Toxic Liver Injury: The First Case Report Worldwide|journal = World Journal of Hepatology|date = 2015-02-27|issn = 1948-5182|pmc = 4342611|pmid = 25729484|pages = 285–288|volume = 7|issue = 2|doi = 10.4254/wjh.v7.i2.285|first1 = Bulent|last1 = Yilmaz|first2 = Barış|last2 = Yilmaz|first3 = Bora|last3 = Aktaş|first4 = Ozan|last4 = Unlu|first5 = Emir Charles|last5 = Roach | doi-access=free }}</ref>

===Treatment===
On drying of these plants, the protoanemonin toxin [[Dimer (chemistry)|dimerize]]s to non-toxic [[anemonin]], which is further [[hydrolyze]]d to non-toxic [[dicarboxylic acid]]s.<ref name="Hunnius">{{cite book|editor1-first=Artur|editor1-last=Berger|editor2-first=Helmut|editor2-last=Wachter|title=Hunnius Pharmazeutisches Wörterbuch|edition=8th|publisher=Walter de Gruyter Verlag|year=1998|language=de|isbn=3-11-015793-4}}</ref><ref name="mithen&finlay-etal">Mithen, S., N. Finlay, W. Carruthers, S. Carter, and P. Ashmore. 2001. Plant use in the Mesolithic: Staosnaig, Isle of Colonsay, Scotland. J. Archaeol. Sci 28:223–234.</ref> Cooking of the plants also eliminates the toxicity of the plants and the plant has been incorporated in diets or herbal medicine after being dried, and ground for flour, or boiled and consumed as a vegetable.<ref name="axtel&ditommaso&post" /><ref name="mithen&finlay-etal" /><ref>North, P. 1967. Poisonous Plants and Fungi in Colour. London Blandford. 121.</ref>[[File:Ranunculus ficaria Aarberg2.JPG|thumb|224x224px]]

==Historical herbal use==
The plant is known as pilewort by some herbalists because it has historically been used to treat piles (hemorrhoids).<ref name="chevallier">Chevallier, A. 1996. The Encyclopedia of Medicinal Plants. New York DK. 258.</ref><ref name="chillemi">Chillemi, S. and M. Chillemi . 2007. The Complete Herbal Guide: A Natural Approach to Healing the Body. Morrisville, NC Lulu. 231.</ref> Lesser celandine is still recommended in several "current" herbal guides for treatment of hemorrhoids by applying an ointment of raw leaves as a cream or lanolin to the affected area.<ref name="axtel&ditommaso&post" /><ref name="chillemi" /><ref>De BaÏracli Levy, J. 1991. The Illustrated Herbal Handbook for Everyone. London Faber and Faber. 51.</ref> Supposedly, the knobby [[tuber]]s of the plant resemble piles, and according to the [[doctrine of signatures]] this resemblance suggests that pilewort could be used to cure piles.<ref>{{Cite web|title = THE DOCTRINE OF SIGNATURES|url = http://www.botgard.ucla.edu/html/botanytextbooks/economicbotany/Doctrine/|website = www.botgard.ucla.edu|access-date = 2016-02-13|archive-date = 2016-02-14|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160214094827/http://www.botgard.ucla.edu/html/botanytextbooks/economicbotany/Doctrine/|url-status = live}}</ref>

[[Nicholas Culpepper]] (1616 – 1654), is claimed to have treated his daughter for '[[Tuberculous cervical lymphadenitis|scrofula]]' (or Kings evil) with the plant.<ref name=Readers/>

The German vernacular ''skorbutkraut'' ("scurvy herb") derives from the use of young leaves, which are high in [[vitamin C]], to prevent [[scurvy]].<ref name="axtel&ditommaso&post" /><ref>{{Cite web|title=Lesser celandine |url=http://www.naturescalendar.org.uk/wildlife/factfiles/flowers/lessercelandine.htm |website=Nature's Calendar |access-date=2016-02-13 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160216153620/http://www.naturescalendar.org.uk/wildlife/factfiles/flowers/lessercelandine.htm |archive-date=2016-02-16 }}</ref> However, use of lesser celandine to prevent scurvy could be considered a [[misnomer]], tied to its similar appearance to common scurvygrass (''[[Cochlearia officinalis]]''), which shares similarly shaped leaves as well as sharing the german name ''[[:de:Skorbutkraut|skorbutkraut]]''.<ref name="hager">{{Cite book|title = Hager's Handbuch der pharmaceutischen Praxis für Apotheker, Ärzte, Drogisten und Medicinalbeamte. ...|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=q1ZKAAAAMAAJ|publisher = J. Springer|date = 1900-01-01|language = de|first = Hermann|last = Hager |author-link=Hermann Hager}}</ref> The German ''[[:de:Hagers Enzyklopädie der Arzneistoffe und Drogen|Hager's Manual of pharmacy practice]]'' of 1900 states ''Ranunculus ficaria'' [''sic''] and ''C. officinalis'' both share this name and use,<ref name="hager" /> though there was little documentation of the toxicity of untreated ''Ficaria'' species at the time.

Most guides today point out that medicines should be made from the dried herb or by heat extraction as the untreated plants and extracts will contain protoanemonin, a mild toxin.<ref name="chevallier" /><ref name="chillemi" /> The plant has been widely used in Russia and is sold in most pharmacies as a dried herb.<ref>{{Cite book|title = A Modern Herbal: The Medicinal, Culinary, Cosmetic and Economic Properties, Cultivation and Folk-lore of Herbs, Grasses, Fungi, Shrubs, & Trees with All Their Modern Scientific Uses|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=tLWve-VvBLoC&q=ficaria+Russia+dried+herb&pg=PA179|publisher = Dover Publications|date = 1971-06-01|isbn = 9780486227986|language = en|first = Maud|last = Grieve}}</ref> The [[protoanemonin]] found in fresh leaves is an irritant and mildly toxic but is suggested to have antibacterial properties if used externally.<ref name="chevallier" /> The process of heating or drying turns the Ranunculaceae toxin to [[anemonin]] which is non-toxic and may have [[antispasmodic]] and [[analgesic]] properties.<ref name="chevallier" />
[[File:Celandine, Killynether Wood - geograph.org.uk - 748879.jpg|thumb|Killynether wood, [[Northern Ireland]]]]

Mesolithic Hunter gatherers in Europe consumed the roots of the plant as a source of carbohydrates boiled, fried or roasted.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Bishop |first=Rosie R. |date=2021-03-15 |title=Hunter-gatherer carbohydrate consumption: plant roots and rhizomes as staple foods in Mesolithic Europe |url=https://doi.org/10.1080/00438243.2021.2002715 |journal=World Archaeology |volume=53 |issue=2 |pages=175–199 |doi=10.1080/00438243.2021.2002715 |s2cid=247170423 |issn=0043-8243|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

==References in literature==
The poet [[William Wordsworth]] was very fond of the flower, which inspired him to write three poems: "To the Small Celandine," "To the Same Flower," and "The Small Celandine." The third poem begins thus:

<blockquote><poem>
There is a Flower, the lesser Celandine,
That shrinks, like many more, from cold and rain;
And, the first moment that the sun may shine,
Bright as the sun himself, 'tis out again!<ref>{{cite wikisource|chapter=The small Celandine|wslink=Poems (Wordsworth, 1815)/Volume 2|plaintitle=Poems (Wordsworth, 1815)|last=|first=|year=|publisher=|page=|wspage=|scan=}}</ref>
</poem></blockquote>

[[File:Vrbenské rybníky - Ficaria verna.jpg|right|thumb|Near [[České Budějovice]], Czech Republic]]

Upon Wordsworth's death it was proposed that a celandine be carved on his memorial plaque inside [[St Oswald's Church, Grasmere]], but unfortunately the [[greater celandine]] ''Chelidonium majus'' was mistakenly used.<ref>{{cite book |title = A Brief History of Thyme and Other Herbs|author = Miranda Seymour|year = 2002}} page 18</ref>

[[Edward Thomas (poet)|Edward Thomas]] wrote a poem entitled "Celandine".<ref>Ed. Mohit K. Ray (Editor) {{google books|A_YatfLrgnMC|The Atlantic Companion to Literature in English|page=530}}</ref> Encountering the flowers in a field, the narrator is reminded of a past love, now dead. He also remarked on banks of celandines in his early prose work "In Pursuit of Spring" (1913).<ref>{{cite news|last1=Oates|first1=Matthew|title=Our pursuit of spring continues, 100 years after Edward Thomas's|url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/blog/2013/mar/28/pursuit-of-spring-edward-thomas|access-date=31 October 2017|work=The Guardian|date=28 March 2013}}</ref>

[[C. S. Lewis]] mentions celandines in a key passage of ''[[The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe]]'', when Aslan comes to Narnia and the whole wood passes "in a few hours or so from January to May". The children notice "wonderful things happening. Coming suddenly round a corner into a glade of [[silver birch]] trees Edmund saw the ground covered in all directions with little yellow flowers - celandines".<ref>{{cite book |title = The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe|author = C. S. Lewis|year = 1950}} End of chapter 11, beginning of chapter 12</ref>

[[D. H. Lawrence]] mentions celandines frequently in ''[[Sons and Lovers]]''. They appear to be a favorite of the protagonist, Paul Morel:

<blockquote>...going down the hedgeside with the girl, he noticed the celandines, scalloped splashes of gold, on the side of the ditch.

'I like them,' he said, 'when their petals go flat back with the sunshine. They seem to be pressing themselves at the sun.'

And then the celandines ever after drew her with a little spell.<ref>{{cite book |title = Sons and Lovers|url = https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.261344|author = D. H. Lawrence|year = 1913}} Chapter 6: Death in the family</ref></blockquote>

[[Tove Jannson]] mentions it in her Summer Book collection of stories, 
<blockquote>
The first to come up was the scurvywort, only an inch high, but vital to seamen who live on ship's biscuit.
</blockquote>

==See also==
* [[Buttercup family]]
* [[Ancient woodland]]
{{clear}}

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
{{Commons}}
{{Wikispecies|Ficaria verna}}
* [https://www.invasivespeciesinfo.gov/profile/fig-buttercup Species Profile - Fig Buttercup (''Ranunculus ficaria'')], National Invasive Species Information Center, [[United States National Agricultural Library]]. Lists general information and resources for Fig Buttercup.
* [https://www.eatweeds.co.uk/lesser-celandine-ficaria-verna Traditional and Modern Use of Lesser Celandine]

{{Taxonbar|from=Q157557|from2=Q19796483}}

[[Category:Ficaria|verna]]
[[Category:Medicinal plants]]
[[Category:Flora of Europe]]
[[Category:Flora of Western Asia]]
[[Category:Flora of Lebanon]]
[[Category:Plants described in 1753]]
[[Category:Botanical taxa named by Carl Linnaeus]]