Caltha palustris var. palustris

Native

Wet. Meadows, woods, marshes, stream banks. Full or partial sun.

April to May

Bright yellow

8″ to 24″

This is a 8″ to 24″ tall, erect, perennial forb that rises from a thick caudex with fibrous roots. It occasionally forms colonies.

The stems are erect, hairless, leafy, hollow, and branched toward the top. They sometimes sprawl with age, producing roots and new stems at the nodes.

Basal leaves are ¾″ to 5″ long, ¾″ to 7½″ wide, round, rounded heart-shaped, or kidney-shaped, usually with a deep, narrow sinus. They are on leaf stalks that are up to 6″ long. The margins have small, shallow, rounded teeth. The upper and lower surfaces are hairless. Stem leaves are alternate and similar to the basal leaves but with progressively shorter leaf stalks and wider sinuses as they ascend the stem.

The inflorescence is a cluster of 1 to 7 large, showy flowers rising from the ends of the stems and from the upper leaf axils.

The flowers are ⅜″ to 1¾″ wide. There are 5 to 9 bright yellow, petal-like, spreading, ⅜″ to 1″ long sepals. There are no petals. There are 50 to 120 stamens.

The fruit is a dry, ⅓″ to ⅔″ long, ⅛″ to 3 ⁄16″ wide, flattened, curved pod containing several seeds.