Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-t7fkt Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-22T04:22:37.681Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Lesser Celandine (Ranunculus ficaria): A Threat to Woodland Habitats in the Northern United States and Southern Canada

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Annie E. Axtell ,
Antonio DiTommaso  and
Angela R. Post
Annie E. Axtell
Affiliation:
Cornell Plantations
Antonio DiTommaso*
Affiliation:
Department of Crop and Soil Sciences
Angela R. Post
Affiliation:
Department of Plant Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853
*
Corresponding author's E-mail: [email protected]
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

Lesser celandine (Ranunculus ficaria) is an ephemeral perennial introduced to North America from Europe for ornamental use. This species is becoming widespread in shady, moist woodlands and lawns in the northern United States and southern Canada. Despite its invasive attributes, lesser celandine continues to be marketed by the nursery sector. A hardy and easy plant to grow, lesser celandine has a dense compact growth form that makes it ideal for border plantings and showy flowers that make it a desirable garden species for early spring color. The species easily escapes cultivation, colonizing primarily moist woodland habitats. Once established, lesser celandine creates a monoculture and is purported to displace native ephemeral species. Several factors make control of lesser celandine difficult, including a large root structure, which facilitates clonal reproduction and spread. The ephemerality of lesser celandine results in a relatively brief window in which to apply control measures. Land managers need to be aware of this common garden species as a potentially invasive weed and need to be able to differentiate it from the similar native marsh marigold. Effective management strategies are needed to protect native woodland understory species and biodiversity in natural and seminatural areas of affected regions.

Keywords

Lesser celandine, Ranunculus ficaria L.Ranunculaceaeinvasive speciesunderstory vegetationspring ephemeralornamental
Type
Invasion Alert
Information
Invasive Plant Science and Management , Volume 3 , Issue 2 , August 2010 , pp. 190 - 196
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
Copyright © Weed Science Society of America

References

Literature Cited

Britton, N. L. and Brown, A. 1913. An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States, Canada and the British Possessions. New York Charles Scribner's Sons. Vol. 2:117.Google Scholar
Chevallier, A. 1996. The Encyclopedia of Medicinal Plants. New York DK. 258.Google Scholar
Chillemi, S. and Chillemi, M. 2007. The Complete Herbal Guide: A Natural Approach to Healing the Body. Morrisville, NC Lulu. 231.Google Scholar
Creber, G. and Wrobel, M. 1996. Elsevier's Dictionary of Plant Names. London Elsevier. 489.Google Scholar
De Baïracli Levy, J. 1991. The Illustrated Herbal Handbook for Everyone. London Faber and Faber. 51.Google Scholar
Fernald, M. L. 1950. Gray's Manual of Botany. 8th ed. Boston American Book. 648.Google Scholar
Foreman, D. B. and Walsh, N. G. 1993. Flora of Victoria. Vol. 3. Dicotyledons. Melbourne Inkata. 61.Google Scholar
Gleason, H. A. and Cronquist, A. 1991. Manual of Vascular Plants of Northeastern United States and Adjacent Canada. 2nd ed. Bronx, NY NY Botanical Garden. 910.Google Scholar
Hall, G. 1998. Peronospora ficariae . IMI Descr. Fungi Bact. 120:Sheet 1195.Google Scholar
Heil, M. and Ploss, K. 2006. Induced resistance enzymes in wild plants—do ‘early birds’ escape from pathogen attack? Naturwissenschaften 93:455–460.Google Scholar
Heywood, V. H. and Walker, S. 1961. Morphological separation of cytological races in Ranunculus ficaria L. Nature 189:604.Google Scholar
Knill-Jones, R. P. 1982. Another foodplant of the yellow shell: Camptogramma bilineata L. Entomol. Rec 94:77.Google Scholar
Krings, A., Neal, J. C., Weakley, A. S., and Swab, E. C. 2005. Ranunculus ficaria (Ranunculaceae), new to North Carolina and an updated key to Carolina congeners. SIDA 21:2429–2437.Google Scholar
Lægaard, S. 2001. Validation of Ranunculus ficaria L. ssp. fertilis Clapham ex. Lægaard (Ranunculaceae). Nord. J. Bot 20:525–526.Google Scholar
Marsden-Jones, E. M. 1935. Ranunculus ficaria Linn.: life-history and pollination. J. Linn. Soc. Lond. Bot 50:39–55.Google Scholar
Metcalfe, C. R. 1938. The morphology and mode of development of the axillary tubercles and root tubers of Ranunculus ficaria . Ann. Bot 2:145–157.Google Scholar
Metcalfe, C. R. 1939. The sexual reproduction of Ranunculus ficaria . Ann. Bot 3:91–103.Google Scholar
Minter, D. W. and Tykhonenko, Yu Ya. 2002. Uromyces ficariae . IMI Descr. Fungi Bact. 150:Sheet 1092.Google Scholar
Mithen, S., Finlay, N., Carruthers, W., Carter, S., and Ashmore, P. 2001. Plant use in the Mesolithic: Staosnaig, Isle of Colonsay, Scotland. J. Archaeol. Sci 28:223–234.Google Scholar
Mordue, J. E. M. 1998. Entyloma ficariae . IMI Descr. Fungi Bact. 110:Sheet 1499.Google Scholar
Nesom, G. L. 2008. Ranunculus ficaria (Ranunculaceae), naturalized in Texas. J. Bot. Res. Inst. Texas 2:741–742.Google Scholar
Newcomb, N. 1977. Newcomb's Wildflower Guide. Boston Little Brown. 364.Google Scholar
North, P. 1967. Poisonous Plants and Fungi in Colour. London Blandford. 121.Google Scholar
[ODA] Oregon Department of Agriculture 2009. ODA Plant Division. Lesser Celandine. http://www.oregon.gov/ODA/PLANT/WEEDS/profile_lessercelandine.shtml. Accessed: January 14, 2010.Google Scholar
Post, A. R., Krings, A., Wall, W. A., and Neal, J. C. 2009. Introduced lesser celandine (Ranunculus ficaria, Ranunculaceae) and its putative subspecies in the United States: a morphometric analysis. J. Bot. Res. Inst. Texas 3:193–209.Google Scholar
Reisch, C. and Scheitler, S. 2009. Disturbance by mowing affects clonal diversity: the genetic structure of Ranunculus ficaria (Ranunculaceae) in meadows and forests. Plant Ecol 201:699–707.Google Scholar
Sakai, A. K., Allendorf, F. W., Holt, J. S., Lodge, D. M., Molofsky, J., With, K. A., Baughman, S., Cabin, R. J., Cohen, J. E., Ellstrand, N. C., McCauley, D. E., O'Neil, P., Parker, I. M., Thompson, J. N., and Weller, S. G. 2001. The population biology of invasive species. Annu. Rev. Ecol. Syst 32:305–332.Google Scholar
Salisbury, E. J. 1925. Veröff. Geo. Bot. Inst 3:334–354.Google Scholar
Sell, P. D. 1994. Ranunculus ficaria L. sensu lato. Watsonia 20:41–45.Google Scholar
Shearer, G. D. 1938. Some observations on the poisonous properties of buttercups. Vet. J 94:22–32.Google Scholar
Swearingen, J. M. 2005. Lesser Celandine. Plant Conservation Alliance Alien Plant Working Group. http://www.nps.gov/plants/alien/fact/rafi1.htm Accessed: January 14, 2010.Google Scholar
Swearingen, J., Reshetiloff, K., Slattery, B., and Zwicker, S. 2002. Plant Invaders of Mid-Atlantic Natural Areas. http://www.invasive.org/eastern/midatlantic/rafi.html Accessed: January 14, 2010.Google Scholar
Taylor, K. and Markham, B. 1978. Biological flora of the British Isles. J. Ecol 66:1011–1031.Google Scholar
Termorshuizen, A. J. 2005. Easily recognizable plant parasites V. Uromyces ficariae, Uromyces dactylidis and Entyloma ficariae as well as some related species on Ranunculus ficaria . Coolia 48:21–23.Google Scholar
University of Maine Cooperative Extension 2008. Bulletin 2534 Lesser Celandine. Maine Natural Areas Program. http://www.umext.maine.edu/onlinepubs/htmpubs/2534.htm. Accessed: January 14, 2010.Google Scholar
[USDA-ARS] U.S. Department of Agriculture–Agricultural Research Service 2007. Germplasm Resources Information Network–(GRIN). http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/family.pl?1597. Accessed: January 14, 2010.Google Scholar
[USDA-NRCS] U.S. Department of Agriculture–Natural Resources Conservation Service 2010. The PLANTS Database. http://plants.usda.gov. Accessed: January 14, 2010.Google Scholar
Verheyen, K. and Hermy, M. 2004. Recruitment and growth of herb-layer species with different colonizing capacities in ancient and recent forests. J. Veg. Sci 15:125–134.Google Scholar
Webb, C. J., Sykes, W. R., Garnock-Jones, P. J., and Bownsey, P. J. 1995. Checklist of dicotyledons, gymnosperms, and pteridophytes naturalized or casual in New Zealand: additional records 1988–1993. N. Z. J. Bot 33:51–182.Google Scholar
Weston, L. A. 2007. September's Weeds of the Month: Greater and Lesser Celandine. http://www.entomology.cornell.edu/Extension/Woodys/LandscapeHortPWT/Resources/WeedOfTheMonth2007September.pdf. Accessed: January 14, 2010.Google Scholar