Ficaria verna ssp verna Lesser Celandine CCC D N
At first sight this plant looks just like Ficaria verna ssp fertilis which is also known as Lesser Celandine. The main difference, which is significant, can't usually be seen by looking at a clump of plants from the top. You need to follow the flower stem (pedicel) down to the nearest axil (joint between stem and leaf) where, when the plant is mature enough, you may find small white bulbils. These bulbils are absent from Ficaria verna ssp fertilis often said to the the commoner sub species. It may be that the two sub species are as common as each other but because you have to hunt for the bulbils, ssp verna is under recorded.
Taxonomy: Ranunculus ficaria ssp ficaria was the the old name (pre 2010) in New Flora of the British Isles for the common species of Lesser Celandine. This became Ficaria verna ssp fertilis while the sub species with bulbils, originally Ranunculus ficaria ssp bulbilifer, became Ficaria verna ssp verna. In continental Europe however the old name Ranunculus ficaria is still used by botanists for Lesser Celandine so the various sub species must be referred to Ranunculus ficaria not Ficaria verna in my opinion. So much for systematic (Latin) names giving consistency in the botanical world. This divergence of systematic naming is happening more as one set of botanists accepts the evidence, often from DNA testing, which leads to a name change while other botanists do not accept that the evidence is strong enough.
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| Ficaria verna ssp verna Lesser Celandine bulbils | Ficaria verna ssp verna Lesser Celandine flower |
Garden, Cheshire 3rd May 2015
Added on 15th May 2015