Land Plants - invasive

Lesser Celandine (Ranunculus ficaria) on Apr 18, 2024

Submitter does not have a specimen

Description of specimen

It seems like a pretty small clump for right now. They’re inside a fenced area, which I think is for storm water management. If I could have gotten to them I would have dug them out. It might be early enough to get them before they spread too far.

Commentary

Carol, thanks for the report. That is indeed lesser celandine. If that is all you are seeing, now is the time to dig them out. Make sure you get all the roots/bulbils and dispose of all plant material in the garbage. Don't put in compost/yard debris. You'll want to dig out any subsequent sprouts. Thanks for getting this early; I've seen this spread throughout whole yards.

Here's our best management practices document, for further reference.
https://tualatinswcd.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Lesser-Celandine_BMP.pdf

Keith Nasman
Tualatin SWCD

Keith Nasman
April 19, 2024, 12:12 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

This is right outside the new apartments called The Opal. They were around the base of a tree.

Expert Reviewer

Keith Nasman
Tualatin SWCD

© 2025 Portland State University | Contact us for questions regarding site content