Lesser Celandine (Ficaria verna)

Common name: Lesser celandine

Species name: Ficaria verna

Plant type: perennial herb

Origin: Europe, west Asia and North Africa

Flowering period: January to April

Description: Low-growing perennial with dark green, glossy heart-shaped leaves with a long stalk. They form low clumps on damp ground, particularly along the Drove banks. The flowers are simple with eight to twelve bright yellow petals, the tips of which fade to white as the flower ages. The flowers close in advance of bad weather and open in the sun so can be used to predict the weather. 

Clump of lesser celandine in flower

Lesser celandine flower, with some fading to white indicating the flower is getting old

Lesser celandine flowers closed due to rain

Location: common. In the SSSI they can be found in hedgerows, on banks and along the Drove. 

Possible confusion: winter aconite (Eranthis hyemalis) which is also low-growing and has similarly-shaped yellow flowers. However, winter aconite is a bulb that dies down after flowering and the leaves surround the flower like a frilly collar.