But it’s so Prreetty!! BEWARE! Lesser Celandine
Lesser celandine along lower Lorraine Avenue at the Franklin Park Woods garden. This invasive flower easily takes over our national, state, and county parks…and areas of our very own neighborhood!
You may have noticed that pretty, little yellow flower that pops up every spring. Lesser celandine (Ficaria verna) has glossy round leaves and yellow petaled flowers on a delicate stem. It can easily establish itself, appearing as a dense, green carpet sprinkled with yellow dots. This little spring ephemeral is an exponential spreader and will take over your lawn and garden if given the chance!
L. celandine loves low-lying, moist areas, such as the bottom of Lorraine Avenue and along our creeks and stream beds. If you want to see how thoroughly it can take over a forest floor, take a drive on Delcarlia Parkway to see its impressive spread. Since L. celandine emerges earlier than our native species, it smothers ferns, mosses, and many spring ephemerals such as Virginia bluebells. With the suppression of native species, habitat and food sources for birds, pollinators, and fireflies are also suppressed. So what to do?
For small patches - hand digging can be an effective means of control, provided all of the roots, tubers (a.k.a, corms) and bulblets (a.k.a, bulbils) are removed from the soil. The plants and soil should be bagged and disposed of in landfill waste — not yard waste!
For larger, established patches - Persistence is key! Sources that reference the use of herbicides point out that several years will be required to eradicate Lesser celandine from an area. A one-time application will have limited, short-term results. While it is too late this year to apply herbicide, take note of areas that need to be treated next year. Several reliable sources for information are listed below. And remember that for appropriate application of any pesticide, the label must be followed!
Learn how to identify and remove Lesser celandine, including characteristics such as a heart-shaped leaf base and three sepals (leaf-like structures) under the petals.
An important native look alike is Yellow marsh marigold, as mentioned in the above video. Yellow marsh marigold blooms around the same time as L. celandine, so it’s important to make sure you have the correct identification. The illustration, below, should help.
Plant this … not that!
If you are looking for native plants that provide the same palette as L. celandine, look no further than Golden groundsel (aka, Golden ragwort; Packera aurea) or Zig-zag goldenrod (Solidago flexicaulis). These are two native ground covers with yellow flowers that will spread and possibly out compete the Lesser celandine over time. Both are deer resistant and loved by birds and pollinators. These can be planted where Lesser celandine has been removed. Bonus: many of our Franklin Park and Forest neighbors have large areas of Golden grounsel and may be willing to part with some plants if it’s requested (we have good neighbors : )
Golden groundsel (also known as Golden ragwort) is a lovely, colorful native ground cover that thrives in shade
On this iNaturalist map, you can see just some of the locations where Lesser celandine has been spotted in our Franklin Park & Forest community.
If you believe you have Lesser celandine, but are not sure and want to double-check to make sure it is not a native look-alike, email the UFA at ufa.mclean@gmail.com. Attaching a picture will help with identification.