Ficaria verna ssp fertilis Lesser Celendine CCC D N
This is one of those cheery early spring plants which cover the roadside verges, banks and streamsides in March and April. There are two common sub-species and this one is probably ssp fertilis. The other, ssp verna, tends to have fewer flowers and has tiny bulbils in the leaf axils. There is more of the ssp verna about than I reckon is recorded. This plant flowers earlier and earlier these days and there is a colony in Cheshire which has had one flower in December in consecutive years and twice in November but always has a few by January.
This plant was known as Ranunuclus ficaria ssp ficaria and is found throughout the British Isles but the name was changed back to its orginal name: Ficaria verna ssp fertilis in New Flora of the British Isles Edition 3 by Clive Stace. The type sub species is now Ficaria verna ssp verna and corresponds to what we knew as Ranunculus ficaria ssp bulbilifer.
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| Ficaria verna ssp fertilis Lesser Celandine |
LHS: By stream Cheshire, RHS: Laneside verge, heshire 18th April 2010
Added on February 1st 2005, January 17th 2006, updated 18th April 2010, updated (name change) 20th August 2011, updated 15th may 2015