Land Plants - invasive

Lesser Celandine (Ranunculus ficaria) on Mar 20, 2018

Submitter does not have a specimen
EDRR Status: Local expert notified

Description of specimen

Yellow flowers, 9 or so petals, blooming right now. Please see photos. It sure looks like lesser celandine to me.

Commentary

Hi Marilyn,
Thanks for reporting this! Yes, it looks like lesser celandine. I've seen it in bloom in other locations as well. It's a hard plant to control. Included below is a useful link to a lesser celandine fact sheet from 4-County CWMA and a research paper from 2010.

https://4ccwma.files.wordpress.com/2018/02/ipm_18_lessercelandine-web.pdf

http://scnps.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/2010_Axtell_Celandine.pdf

Manual hand pulling is generally not recommended in riparian zones and wetlands unless dealing with an extremely small infestation (i.e., a few plants). Soil disturbance can increase its spread. Any tubers or bulblets you dig up should be put in a plastic garbage bag and disposed of in the trash (and not composted).

There are some recommendations in the fact sheet for herbicide application if that is an option you want to pursue, although since it's already in bloom it may be too late to spray. I've heard herbicide application offers mixed results...the waxy leaves make it hard for the herbicide to absorb and translocate. It's best to control infestations early on before they spread, as you are doing. Once celandine gets established, it's difficult to eradicate.

If you have any other questions, please let me know. Thanks!
Kind regards,

Tyler Pedersen
Tualatin SWCD

Tyler Pedersen
March 21, 2018, 1:41 a.m.

Remedy

For small patches, plants can be dug up in their entirety (be sure to get all roots and the small bulbils that break off to form new plants - you may need to sift through your soil to get these). Do not compost or put in your yard debris bin any below-ground parts of the plant (tubers and bulbils) as they can be spread this way. The leaves and flowers are ok to compost or put in yard debris. For larger patches, digging is impractical and can cause a lot of disturbance; herbicide application may have more success. * Lesser Celandine: National Park Service fact sheet *Lesser Celandine info from West Multnomah SWCD

Resources

Lesser Celandine info from Urban Ecology Center

Location

The Lesser Celandine is at the corner of Leahy Road where it turns south and becomes NW 90th and where Oak St comes in from the east. The g round there is usually moist as a creek drainage is very near and water runs into a newly installed drain on the edge of the street/sidewalk. The patch was a single plant two years ago I think, but is now 18" x probably 30". A corner home up Oak has a bunch of it along the curb and I fear that bulbets have cascaded down the street in rain water to where it is now growing. There may be more. I left literature about the plant with the occupant on Oak street that first year and the plant material was removed but it is back with a vengeance this year.

Expert Reviewer

Tyler Pedersen
Tualatin Soil and Water Conservation District

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