Ficaria verna
(formerly Ranunculus ficaria)

Lesser Celandine

[not native to the Mid-Atlantic area - considered to be invasive]

[ click on any image below to see larger version ]

Family: Ranunculaceae (Buttercup family)

Mid-Atlantic bloom time: March - May

Lesser Celandine's leaves are shiny dark green and heart shaped; the flowers are a bright glossy yellow. It often develops small bulbs (bulbils) at the base of its central stalk.

Lesser Celandine can be highly invasive in moist woodlands, where it crowds out native spring ephemerals by forming dense mats.

5 April 2013 Scotts Run Nature Preserve, McLean, VA	22 March 2015 Scotts Run Nature Preserve, McLean, VA	22 March 2015 Scotts Run Nature Preserve, McLean, VA (showing bulbils near the top of each root)	11 April 2018 Riverbend Park, Great Falls, VA
11 April 2018 Riverbend Park, Great Falls, VA

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