What Wildflower Begins Blooming This Week?  (April week 3)

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This week, I’m featuring Marsh Marigold (Caltha palustris) as two of our local wildflowers that begin to bloom at this time.

In sunny wetlands, Marsh Marigold is one of the first wildflowers to bloom in the spring. According to the Cornell Botanic Gardens in Ithaca, New York, Marsh Marigold bloomed an average of six days earlier over the period of 1986 to 2015 as an indication of climate change sensitivity.

Description:

Marsh Marigold is a native perennial herbaceous plant in the buttercup family (Ranunculaceae) that tends to grow in clumps. Also known as cowslip, cowflock, or kingcup, it is a lovely harbinger of spring.

Marsh Marigold in Ushers Road State Forest

Marsh Marigold grows from 8-24 inches tall with many branches, and has glossy green basal leaves that are round, oval, heart or kidney-shaped and up to 4” long and 4” across.

Basal leaves of Marsh Marigold
Photo Credit: https://commonsensehome.com/marsh-marigold/

The basal leaves have long petioles while upper, stem leaves are alternate and on shorter petioles becoming stalkless as they ascend the stem. The stems are hairless and hollow. Leaves are smooth with a deep and narrow notch and their margins have small scallops or teeth. Leaf edges may be toothless but are more often scalloped.

Upper stem leaves of Marsh Marigold
Photo Credit: https://commonsensehome.com/marsh-marigold/

The upper stems produce small clusters of 2-5 bright yellow flowers on short petioles, usually rising above the leaves. Each flower is about ¾–1½” across with 5-9 (usually) petal-like sepals. There are no true petals. The sepals are bright yellow, well-rounded, and slightly overlapping. There is no noticeable floral scent.

Fertilized flowers mature into a flattened and recurved seedpod (follicle) about 3/8 inch long.  Each follicle is initially green and erect, spreading out as it matures, drying to light greenish brown and eventually splitting open along its upper side to release its seeds.

Marsh Marigold fruit (follicles)
Photo Credit: (c) 2010 Peter M. Dziuk,
https://www.minnesotawildflowers.info/flower/marsh-marigold#lboxg-3
Marsh Marigold seeds
Photo Credit: USDA, NRCS. 2016. The PLANTS Database (http://plants.usda.gov, 13 February 2016). National Plant Data Team, Greensboro, NC 27401-4901 USA. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Folklore:

A German legend tells the story of a maiden named Caltha (meaning “cup” in Greek) who fell so in love with the sun god that she spent her days and nights in the fields, trying to see as much as possible of him, until her body and spirit wasted away. The very first Marsh Marigold – a cup filled with the sun’s rays – grew where the devoted maiden had stood.

Culinary and Medicinal Uses:

CAUTION:  Plant juices can cause blistering or inflammation on skin or mucous membranes on contact. WARNING:  POISONOUS – Leaves contain the oily toxin protoanemonin, the amount of which increases as the leaves progress through a growing season. If ingested raw, it can induce convulsions and lesions throughout the digestive tract.

The young leaves (picked before the plant blooms) are sometimes used as potherbs, but require several short boilings with changes of water between each; heat destroys the toxins. Tightly closed buds can be similarly prepared and pickled like capers.

Medicinally, the whole plant is anodyne (painkiller), antispasmodic, diaphoretic (induces sweating), diuretic (induces urination), emetic (induces vomiting), expectorant and rubefacient. A poultice of the boiled and mashed roots was used by American Indians to treat sores, remove warts, protect against love charms, and as an aid in childbirth. A tea made from its leaves was also believed to relieve constipation. Early colonists learned from American Indians to mix a decoction of the root with maple syrup to make cough syrup.

Wildlife Value:

The flowers produce both nectar and copious amounts of pollen, which attract primarily flies and bees. Marsh Marigolds are primarily pollinated by pollen-seeking Greater Bee Fly (Bombylius major), Halictid bees, honey bees, and hoverflies (family Syrphidae, including Lejops spp., Neoascia spp., and Xylota spp.). Ants (family Formicidae) and cuckoo bees (Nomada spp.) collect the nectar.

To see the dramatic pattern on Marsh Marigold blossoms as bees see them, view: http://www.naturfotograf.com/UV_CALT_PAL.html.

Because the acrid foliage contains toxic alkaloids and glycosides, it is usually avoided by browsing animals. The seeds are eaten by Eastern Chipmunk (Tamias striatus), Meadow Vole (Microtus pennsylvanicus), Sora Rail (Porzana carolina), and Wood Duck (Aix sponsa).

Where Found Locally:

As its name suggests, Marsh Marigold is a plant that prefers sunny areas where the soil is consistently wet from underground seepage of water. Habitats include various wetlands, including vernal pools in low woodlands, swamps, soggy meadows in river floodplains, marshes, fens, seeps and springs, and ditches that get part or full sun.

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