[MAIPC] Invasive Species of the Month

[Marc Imlay]

<https://www.sierraclub.org/maryland/blog/2019/05/invasive-species-month-les
ser-celandine-fig-buttercup>
https://www.sierraclub.org/maryland/blog/2019/05/invasive-species-month-less
er-celandine-fig-buttercup

 

Invasive Species of the Month: Lesser Celandine (Fig Buttercup)

May 1, 2019

 

(From Wikimedia Commons)
<https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lesser_celandine_im.JPG>
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lesser_celandine_im.JPG

We have been working hard to remove the invasive plant, Lesser Celandine,
from parks near the College Park Sierra Club office, including Magruder
Woods, Cherry Hill Park, and Little Paint Branch Park. Local community
service volunteers, our stewardship intern, and park rangers have been
hand-removing these plants with shovels to get the bulbs out.

 

Anatomy of Lesser Celandine

Lesser Celandine, Ranunculus ficaria L., also known as Fig Buttercup, is an
herbaceous, flowering, perennial plant native to Europe. It was brought to
the United States as an ornamental plant. It can be identified by its
glossy, dark green, kidney-shaped leaves with its bright yellow flowers
blooming in early spring. It spreads using its finger-like tuberous roots
and blooms from March through April. Caltha palustris, a.k.a. Marsh
marigold, is a native plant that looks very similar to Lesser Celandine.
This look-alike tends to grow in much wetter, marshy habitats, and forms in
clumps rather than spreading out across the ground. Another way to tell the
two apart is that Lesser Celandine typically has 7-12 petals, while Marsh
Marigold has 5-9. Be sure that the plant you are looking at is indeed Lesser
Celandine before attempting to remove it.

 



Marsh Marigold, a native look-alike to Lesser Celandine

Lesser Celandine is invasive in 22 states and parts of Canada. It arrives
early in the spring, spreading out over the ground, creating a thick carpet,
making it virtually impossible for native understory plants to grow and
survive there. Native wildflowers are particularly negatively impacted by
this invasive species. Lesser Celandine prefers partially shaded areas, but
is capable of growing in direct sunlight if it has adequate soil moisture.  

 

 

 



Map of Lesser Celandine's invasive range in the United States and Canada

>From  <https://plants.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=RAFI>
https://plants.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=RAFI

It can easily escape from private plantings and grow quickly in the wild.
Management can be difficult because of the bulbous nature of the plant's
root system. Manual control can lead to bulb fragments being left behind,
causing reinfestation. If you are removing plants manually, be sure to put
all parts of the plant in a sealed bag and do not attempt to compost it, as
this will cause it to continue to spread. Chemical control is possible if
timed properly and applied correctly. However, some herbicides are
non-selective in nature which can lead non-target species being negatively
affected. There are currently no biological controls approved for this
species, so more research must be done in order to develop working forms.
One action you can take is to
<http://click.emails.sierraclub.org/?qs=26a60d0d09b2285a7c02c15c92b7775d7fb5
76b93d7ba8c5038cead0fc6fecd212234235f2a6e8a4d95d859dbf0d2f8b5cc6a22b8d6e5830
> request that your federal legislators allocate funding for a pathogen
quarantine facility for research on effective, host-specific, biological
control of Lesser Celandine.

 



Map of reports of Lesser Celandine by county in Maryland

From
<https://www.marylandbiodiversity.com/viewSpeciesQuadMap.php?species=3034>
https://www.marylandbiodiversity.com/viewSpeciesQuadMap.php?species=3034

 

 

 



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