Land Plants - invasive

Lesser Celandine (Ficaria verna) on Mar 5, 2025

Submitter has sample

Description of specimen

Scattered patches of lesser celandine. We are attempting to control invasive blackberry, and will dig these up at the same time.

Commentary

Susan,

Thanks for the report! Thanks for your efforts at removing the lesser celandine. It is a challenge to get all the bulbils out of the soil. You might consider sifting the soil to help get them. Keep an eye on the area for the next few years to catch any others that show up.

Make sure you put all plant matter removed in the garbage.

Here is our best management practices document:
https://tualatinswcd.org/lesser-celandine_bmp/

Reach out if you have further questions.

Keith Nasman
Invasive Species Technician
Tualatin Soil & Water Conservation District
C: 971-330-0902
keith.nasman@tualatinswcd.org

Keith Nasman
March 6, 2025, 3:21 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

We live across the Tualatin River from the wildlife refuge. I noticed a few patches of lesser celandine flowering in the upper floodplain on our side of the river. We had a few trees come down in the recent wind, and hope to control invasives before the additional sunlight allows them to completely take over.

Expert Reviewer

Keith Nasman
Tualatin SWCD

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