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Ficaria verna Huds. (formerly known as Ranunculus ficaria L.) (Emadzade et al. 2010)
Fig buttercup, lesser celandine
Europe (Post et al. 2009)
First identified in 1867 (Post et al. 2009)
Introduced as an ornamental (Post et al. 2009)
Crowds out native species (Axtell et al. 2010)
Northeastern U.S. and Pacific Northwest
Fig buttercup, flowers; close-up
Photo by Leslie J. Mehrhoff; University of Connecticut
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The section below contains highly relevant resources for this species, organized by source.
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Axtell, A.E., A. DiTommaso, and A.R. Post. 2010. Lesser celandine (Ranunculus ficaria): a threat to woodland habitats in the northern United States and southern Canada. Invasive Plant Science and Management 3(2):199-196.
Emadzade, K., C. Lehnebach, P. Lockhart, and E. Hörandl. 2010. A molecular phylogeny, morphology and classification of genera of Ranunculeae (Ranunculaceae). Taxon 59(3):809-828.
Post, A.R., A. Krings, W.A. Wall, and J.C Neal. 2009. Introduced lesser celandine (Ranunculus ficaria, Ranunculaceae) and its putative subspecies in the United States: a morphometric analysis [PDF, 1.56 MB]. Journal of the Botanical Research Institute of Texas 3(1):193-209.