Ficaria verna, Lesser Celandine

Common Name: Lesser Celandine

Ficaria verna (formerly Ranunculus ficaria), commonly known as Lesser Celandine or Pilewort, is a low-growing, hairless perennial flowering plant in the buttercup family (Ranunculaceae), unlike the Greater Celandine (Chelidonium majus), which belongs to the poppy (Papavaraceae) family.

It has fleshy dark green, heart-shaped leaves and distinctive flowers with bright yellow, glossy petals. It prefers bare, damp ground and is considered by horticulturalists in the United Kingdom as a persistent garden weed; nevertheless, many specialist plantsmen, nursery owners and discerning gardeners in the UK and Europe collect selected cultivars of the plant, including bronze-leaved and double-flowered ones.

Emerging in late winter with flowers appearing March through May in the UK, its appearance across the landscape is regarded by many as a harbinger of spring.

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