Caltha palustris
Common names
Marsh marigold, king cup
Biostatus
Exotic
Category
Vascular
Structural class
Herbs - Dicotyledons other than Composites
Flower colours
Yellow
Detailed description
Stout, perennial herb. Stems leafy, permanently erect, or sprawling with age and producing roots and shoots at nodes. Basal leaves: lamina 5-125 × 10-190 mm, yellow-green to green (often flushed with red), rounded to ovate, reniform, or cordate, margins entire or crenate to dentate. Inflorescences 1-7-flowered. Flowers 10-45 mm diameter; sepals yellow or orange, 6-25 mm. Follicles 5-25, spreading, sessile, ellipsoid; bodies 8.0-15.0 × 3.0-4.5 mm; style and stigma straight or curved, 0.5-2.0 mm. Seeds elliptic, 1.5-2.5 mm.
Similar taxa
None that are naturalised in New Zealand
Distribution
Naturalised exotic. Currently known from scattered sites in the Waikato, Wellington and Canterbury regions
Habitat
An uncommon weed of lowland ponds, slow flowing streams and muddy ground. Commonly cultivated, whereby it sometimes spreads from gardens into nearby waterways
Conservation status
Not applicable
Detailed taxonomy
Family
Ranunculaceae
Ecology
Flowering
Throughout the year
Fruiting
Throughout the year
Year naturalised
1999
Origin
Europe
Propagation technique
Easily grown from rooted pieces and daughter offsets, In New Zealand plants spread mostly by vegetative means although viable seed is produced and some seedlings have been seen in the wild.
Other information
Etymology
caltha: From the Greek kalathos ‘goblet’, refers to the form of the flower
palustris: From the Latin palus ‘swamp’, meaning growing in swamps
Referencing and citations
Attribution
Fact sheet prepared for NZPCN by P.J. de Lange (28 March 2012). Description by P.J. de Lange.
NZPCN Fact Sheet citation
Please cite as: de Lange, P.J. (Year at time of access): Caltha palustris Fact Sheet (content continuously updated). New Zealand Plant Conservation Network. https://www.nzpcn.org.nz/flora/species/caltha-palustris/ (Date website was queried)