Caltha palustris, The Marsh Marigold

Also known a Kingcup.

Marsh Marigolds are one of our most ancient flowers, believed to have been growing here since before the last Ice age and to have survived that ice age and flourished in the melting waters. The last Ice age ran from about 110,000 years ago until 12,000 years ago, it was a long winter and this is an old flower.

It is found all over the UK and is native to much of the Northern Hemisphere including North America and Canada. It does well in cold climates.

In the UK it flowers in February and can last until April.

It is a waterside plant, growing in or on the edge of running water, it also grows in the ponds here on the farm and in wet woodland.

This next picture shows the typical habitat, showing young plants growing alongside and through a woodland stream. This picture was taken on the 27th of February 2014.

These flowers were photographed on the same day and in the same location as the previous picture.

Marsh Marigold is a member of the Buttercup family and I have heard it said that it is easily confused with other buttercups and even Lesser Celandine. They are all related and yellow but the Marsh Marigold flower is twice the size of any of the others, about two inches across it has quite dense and luxuriant foliage and it grows in water. There is really nothing that you can confuse it with.

This primitive flower doesn’t have petals, it has bright yellow sepals.

At the bud stage the outside of these sepals can be quite green.

Five sepals is the norm but they can have as many as nine, this next flower has six.

Inside the sepals are multiple stamens and styles.

The leaves are very variable, round to heart shaped, they can be six inches across and the leaf edge varies from smooth to sharply toothed. Generally the foliage is luxuriant.