The Weed Wire: Lesser Celandine
History and Native Range: Ficaria verna is a low-growing flowering plant in the buttercup family, native to Europe and Western Asia. In the United Kingdom where it is native and commonly cultivated in gardens, it is often regarded as a harbinger of spring due to being one of the first plants to flower. Outside of its native range, lesser celandine has escaped ornamental cultivation in the eastern and northwestern regions of the United States, as well as Canada.
Identification: Lesser celandine’s growth habit is low and clumping, growing up to 10 inches in height and in clumps of 4-10 short stems. The stems, leaves, and flowers are all smooth (as opposed to similar species which may have fine hairs). The leaves are dark green on top, light green below, and shaped like a rounded heart. The bright yellow flowers may have anywhere from 7 to 12 petals, but are always radially symmetrical. Below ground, the roots are composed of small tubers and fine roots. One of lesser celandine’s main methods of reproduction is through division of these tuber clusters, which form individual plants when separated.
As mentioned earlier, lesser celandine is one of the first to make an appearance as winter ends. Growth actually begins during winter, with foliage appearing above ground in late winter or early spring. By late February to mid-March it is in bloom, and by the end of May the plant will have died back to its roots to enter its dormancy phase.
The Problem Here: Although lesser celandine is low-growing and spends only a small part of the year actively growing, it is still an aggressive invasive species and is of particular concern in forested floodplains, where it often forms extensive mats once it becomes established. The early-emerging celandine sets leaf well before most native ephemeral spring-blooming wildflowers, outcompeting them for growing space. After setting seed and dying off by late spring, the ground is left barren and susceptible to erosion. In fact, movement of eroded tuber-containing soil is a major way in which new lesser celandine infestations become established.
Lesser celandine forming a groundcover monoculture in Pennsylvania. By late spring, the ground here will be completely bare.
Manual Control: Small infestations of lesser celandine may be removed by careful digging and monitoring of the infested area. The entire plant and tubers must be removed to prevent the plant’s return. A soil sifter may be useful when removing lesser celandine by hand to prevent small broken-off tubers from remaining behind in the soil. The removed material must be bagged on-site and disposed of in landfill garbage.
Unfortunately, larger infestations have limited means available for control. Mowing does not impact the plant’s ability to resprout the following year, and weed cloth may not be effective as tubers will remain dormant but viable for multiple years.
Herbicides: When lesser celandine infestations are too large to control manually, herbicide treatments are the most effective option for control. Glyphosate and triclopyr are both effective at controlling lesser celandine, even at low concentrations, but an early-season treatment of glyphosate (during an appropriate weather window) may be preferable over triclopyr as it is only absorbed through foliage, while triclopyr can also be absorbed through roots. As lesser celandine is often the only plant in leaf during the early season window, a glyphosate application at this time will pose little to no risk to non-target vegetation as long as label directions are followed.
Note: Lesser celandine is one of ten noxious weed species covered by Lincoln SWCD’s Title II Program. If you believe you have a lesser celandine infestation on your property, contact info@lincolnswcd.org or call (541) 265-2631; we may be able to offer free chemical control of lesser celandine or any other species covered by this program.
Links to Information and Studies:
Partner Spotlight
OSU Extension Small Farms Program
