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29 March 2023
That is the time of 12 months when invasive vegetation sprout and bloom earlier than the natives, significantly lesser celandine (Ficaria verna), a member of the Buttercup household with succulent leaves and vibrant yellow 8-12 petal flowers.
In accordance with invasive.org, lesser celandine prefers sandy soil in low open woods, floodplains, meadows and waste locations. It spreads simply by tubers and tiny bulblets so a scouring flood or digging in its neighborhood, together with digging animals, spreads it to new websites. It additionally thrives as a result of it’s toxic and deer don’t eat it.
I often discover lesser celandine blanketing floodplains together with these on the Monongahela River at Duck Hole — the place it’s already in bloom — and Chartiers Creek at Boyce Mayview and Wingfield Pines.
Blanketing is what makes it invasive. Native spring ephemeral flowers want unobstructed daylight to finish their life cycle however lesser celandine leafs out early, blankets the bottom and shades the natives earlier than they will make a begin.
Once I was studying to establish vegetation I used to confuse it with the native plant marsh marigold (Caltha palustris).
Penn State Extension explains the distinction between them right here however the largest trace is that this: If the plant is carpeting the bottom and blooming in March or early April, particularly on a floodplain, you possibly can guess it’s lesser celandine.
p.s. Be taught extra about invasive vegetation in Pennsylvania at DCNR’s Invasive Plant Truth Sheets at https://www.dcnr.pa.gov/Conservation/WildPlants/InvasivePlants/InvasivePlantFactSheets/Pages/default.aspx
(pictures by Kate St. John and from Wikimedia Commons)
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