(yellow marsh marigold)
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Photo of Caltha palustris by Jacob Frank
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Yellow marsh marigold is an aquatic or semi-aquatic plant, with rounded leaves and yellow flowers in the buttercup family (Ranunculaceae). If not floating, the stems are
decumbent and rooting at
nodes, 10-60 cm long. Leaves are rounded, often kidney-shaped, 2-20 cm wide. The margins are
entire or
crenate.
Inflorescences are produced on upright stems, one to a few flowers grouped together. The large (2-5 cm across), open blossoms have five bright yellow
tepals. Inside the flower there is a whorl of many yellow
stamens and many short
pistils. The fruits are
follicles, which split open to release several seeds. The seeds are
elliptic, 1.5-2.5 mm long. A few similar looking species of the genus
Ranunculus can be found in similar amphibious habitats, but none have such large yellow flowers or broad, kidney-shaped leaves, while rooting at the stem
nodes.
This species is perennial and flowers in early summer.
The flowers are bisexual, insect-pollinated and self-incompatible (
Lundqvist 1992). The fruits are
follicles, which split open to release several seeds. Seeds are dispersed via water. Plants can also spread vegetatively via
rhizomes.
Plants contain protoanemonin and aconite, poisonous compounds. Tea brewed from Marsh Marigold leaves was used by the Yup'ik, to treat diarrhea or constipation (Lantis 1959 in Garibaldi 1999). To remove toxic compounds, water has to be changed two or three times (Jernigan et al. 2015).
Disclaimer for Known Uses.
Yellow marsh marigold has an incompletely circumpolar distribution, occurring across the northern hemisphere, except is absent from Greenland. Yellow marsh marigold occurs across Canada and the northern tier of U.S. states, reaching as far south as the mountains of California in the west and the Smoky Mtns. of North Carolina in the east. Caltha palustris occurs in wetlands across Alaska, and on both sides of the Alaska Range in Denali.
Details are shown in the Plots & Charts found at right, depicting recent Denali data.
This species occurs at a wide range of elevations and prefers low inclines.
Details are shown in the Plots & Charts found at right. For more on how to interpret these figures, visit Understanding Data Presented.
Wet to aquatic sites.
