Lesser Celandine
Ficaria verna
Washington State Classification
Class B — Control Required (Designated)
Lesser celandine outcompetes and excludes native plants.
Required control in Region 1 (all western Washington counties)
Quick Reference
Identification
Growth Habit
It is a highly variable, hairless perennial with club-shaped, tuberous roots. Plants grow up to around 12 inches tall in a mounded rosette with basal and stem leaves. Solitary yellow flowers bloom at stem tips and form clusters of achenes.
Leaves
Plants have basal and stem leaves. Basal and lower stem leaves have longer petioles. Leaves are medium to dark green, often paler on their undersides. They are oblong, heart or triangular in shape with edges that can be smooth or have rounded teeth.
Flowers
Flowers are typically solitary on stem tips and are around 1 inch wide. Flowers have 3 (sometimes 4) pale green sepals and typically 7-13 yellow petals. Flowers typically yellow but color may vary depending on cultivars.
Fruit & Seeds
The fruit is a globular shaped cluster of achenes. Each achene contains a single seed.
Impact
Lesser celandine outcompetes and excludes native plants. It emerges before most other spring ephemeral plants which can give it a competitive advantage over our native understory plant communities. It is invasive, difficult to control and is spreading in Washington, but still has a fairly limited distribution.
Ecology & Spread
Habitat
Lesser celandine grows in a variety of habitats from moist, shaded woodlands, wetlands, streambanks and riverbanks to lawns, landscaped areas and roadsides. It is has been primarily found in Western Washington, with the largest number of sites in Whatcom County. Please click here to see a county level distribution map of lesser celandine in Washington.
Spread Mechanisms
Reproduction
Depending on the subspecies, plants can reproduce by movement of its tuberous roots, by the bulbils on its stem and also by seed. Tubers and bulbils are easily dislodged and spread by mowing, moving soil and plant parts, as well as by flooding.
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Control Methods
Mechanical
Cultural / Prevention
- Prevent its introduction. Do not plant lesser celandine or its cultivars. Hand dig making certain to remove all plant parts. Bag and dispose of plant parts. Do not compost. Do not mow as it can spread the bulbils and seeds. Sheet mulch with a thick layer of wood chips (6 inches) to smother plants
Biological Control
- There are currently no biological control agents available for lesser celandine.