Lesser Celandine
Ficaria verna
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Glossy yellow stars that open with the sun and shut tight the moment it goes in.
A low, spreading perennial with dark green, glossy, heart-shaped leaves and bright, varnished yellow flowers of eight to twelve narrow petals. Lesser celandine is one of the earliest flowers of the year, appearing from February on damp woodland floors, hedge banks, churchyards and riverside grass throughout the Dumfries area.
Behaviour
The flowers open in sunshine and close in dull weather and overnight, and the whole plant dies back completely by early summer, leaving no trace until the following spring. It spreads by root tubers and small bulbils in the leaf axils, which is why it can appear so suddenly and in such quantity. It was Wordsworth's favourite flower, and is carved on his memorial.
When to see it
Quick facts
- Family
- Buttercups (Ranunculaceae)
- Height
- 5–25 cm
- Status
- Native; abundant on damp ground
Photo by Michal Osmenda from Brussels, Belgium, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons