Caltha palustris

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
"Kingcup" redirects here. For other uses, see King's Cup.

Caltha palustris
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Ranunculales
Family: Ranunculaceae
Genus: Caltha
Species:
C. palustris
Binomial name
Caltha palustris
Varieties
Synonyms

Trollius paluster

E.H.L.Krause

Caltha palustris, known as marsh-marigold

temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere
. It flowers between April and August, dependent on altitude and latitude, but occasional flowers may occur at other times.

Description

Caltha palustris is a 10–80 centimetres (4–31+1⁄2 in) high, hairless, fleshy, perennial, herbaceous plant that dies down in autumn and

leaf blade, itself between 3–25 cm (1+1⁄4–9+3⁄4 in) long and 3–20 cm (1+1⁄4–7+3⁄4 in) wide, with a heart-shaped foot, a blunt tip, and a scalloped to toothed, sometime almost entire margin particularly towards the tip. In their youth the leaves are protected by a membranous sheath, that may be up to 3 cm (1+1⁄4 in) long in fully grown plants.[2]

Inflorescence

The common marsh-marigold mostly has several

carpels, with a two-lobed, obliquely positioned stigma, and each with many seedbuds. This later develops into a seated, funnel-shaped fruit (a so-called follicle) of 0.75–2 cm (1⁄4–3⁄4 in) long and 0.25–0.5 cm (1⁄8–1⁄4 in) wide, that opens with one suture at the side of the axis and contains 7–20 ovoid, brown to black seeds of about 2.5 mm × 1.5 mm (3⁄32 in × 1⁄16 in).[2]

Taxonomy

Taxonomic history

The oldest

correct name.[3]

Etymology

A Caltha palustris flower and bud at the Ljubljana Botanical Garden in Slovenia

The generic name Caltha is derived from the Ancient Greek κάλαθος (kálathos), meaning "goblet", and is said to refer to the shape of the flower.[4] The species epithet palustris is Latin for "of the marsh" and indicates its common habitat.[5]

In the UK, Caltha palustris is known by a variety of vernacular names, varying by geographical region. These include in addition to the most common two, marsh marigold and kingcup, also brave bassinets, crazy Beth, horse blob,[

better source needed] Both are herbaceous plants with yellow flowers, but Primula veris is much smaller.[citation needed
]

Subdivision, synonymy and culture varieties

White form seen in the Himalayas in Kashmir, India

Caltha palustris is a very

type specimen is used at different levels, only the use at the highest taxonomic rank is listed, so as C. himalensis is already listed, C. palustris var. himalensis is not.[2]
  • C. palustris var. alba
    C. palustris var. alba
  • C. palustris var. purpurea
    C. palustris var. purpurea
  • C. palustris var. palustris
    C. palustris var. palustris
  • opened follicles
    opened follicles
  • seeds
    seeds

The 2006–2007 edition of the Royal Horticultural Society Plant Finder, a British publication which lists over 70,000 plants available in nurseries in the United Kingdom, lists in addition to these varieties the following cultivars: Single flowered: "Marilyn", "Trotter's form", "Yellow Giant". Double flowered: "Flore Pleno" (RHS's Award of Garden Merit), "Multiplex", "Plena", "Semiplena".[7]

Distribution and habitat

Closeup view of Caltha palustris in Himachal Pradesh, India.

The species is

temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. It can be found in much of the northeastern United States.[9]

Ecology

flood plains of the Narew
river.

The marsh-marigold grows in places with oxygen-rich water near the surface of the soil. It likes richer soils, but dislikes application of

coppices and other regularly flooded and always moist forests. When it is present it often visually dominates when it is in bloom. It also used to be common on wet meadows, but due to agricultural rationalization it is now limited to ditches.[10]

It is a component of

Biodiversity Action Plan habitat in the UK. It occurs on poorly drained neutral and acidic soils of the lowlands and upland fringe.[citation needed
]

In western Europe, the marsh-marigold moth

anthers of the marsh-marigold and other plants to eat the pollen. The caterpillars that are present in summer and autumn also feed on marsh-marigold, although these are sometimes found on mosses too. Another visitor of Caltha palustris in western Europe is the leaf beetle Prasocuris phellandrii, which is black with four orange stripes and around ½ cm and eats the sepals. Its larvae inhabit the hollow stems of members of the parsley family.[10] In the USA (Illinois) two species of leaf beetle can be found on Caltha: Plateumaris nitida and Hydrothassa vittata.[11] The maggots of some Phytomyza species (Agromyzidae) are miners in Caltha leaves.[12]

Pollination

Caltha palustris pollination by a syrphid fly (Sphegina montana)

The flowers produce both nectar and copious amounts of pollen which attract many insect visitors. They may be most commonly pollinated by hoverflies (Syrphidae).

Syrphidae, Anthomyiidae, Tachinidae and Muscidae) have been observed to visit the leaves or flowers, many of which were found carrying Caltha pollen.[14]
In addition to other forms of pollination, this plant is adapted to rain-pollination.[15]

Caltha palustris is infertile when self-pollinated. Rather high fertility in crosses between sibling plants suggest that this phenomenon is genetically regulated by several genes. This regulation mechanism also occurs in Ranunculus and as far as known only in these two genera.[16]

Seed dispersal

In Caltha palustris up to two hundred seeds may be produced by each flower.[16] When the follicles open, they form a "splash cup". When a raindrop hits one at the right angle, the walls are shaped such that the seeds are expelled.[10] The seeds also have some spongy tissue that makes them float on water, until they wash up in a location that may be suitable for this species to grow.[17]

Diseases

The marsh-marigold is affected by the rust species Puccinia calthea and P. calthicola.[18]

Toxicity

Caltha contains several active substances of which the most important from a toxicological point of view is protoanemonin. Larger quantities of the plant may cause convulsions, burning of the throat, vomiting, bloody diarrhea, dizziness and fainting. Contact of the skin or mucous membranes with the juices can cause blistering or inflammation, and gastric illness if ingested. Younger parts seem to contain less toxics and heating breaks these substances down. Small amounts of Caltha in hay do not cause problems when fed to husbandry, but larger quantities lead to gastric illness.[19]

Additionally, plants that live in raw water may carry toxic organisms which can be neutralized by cooking.[9]

Uses

Early spring greens and buds of Caltha palustris are edible when cooked (but are poisonous when raw).[20] Young leaves or buds should be submerged a few times in fresh boiling water until barely tender, cut into bite-sized pieces, lightly salted, and served with melted butter and vinegar.[19] Very young flowerbuds have been prepared like capers and used as a spice.[10]

The common marsh marigold is planted as an ornamental throughout temperate regions in the world, and sometimes recommended for low maintenance wildlife gardens.[7] The double-flowered cultivar 'Flore Pleno' has won the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.[21]

Culture

Caltha palustris is a plant commonly mentioned in literature, including

Shakespeare
:

Winking Marybuds begin
To open their golden eyes (Cymbeline, ii. 3).

It also appears in Charlotte Brontë's Shirley:

They both halted on the green brow of the Common: they looked down on the deep valley robed in May raiment; on varied meads, some pearled with daisies, and some golden with king-cups: to-day all this young verdure smiled clear in sunlight; transparent emerald and amber gleams played over it [22]

and in Thomas Hardy's poem 'Overlooking the River Stour':

Closed were the kingcups; and the mead/Dripped in monotonous green,/Though the day's morning sheen/Had shown it golden and honeybee'd.

Kingcup Cottage by Racey Helps is a children's book which features the plant.

References

  1. ^ BSBI List 2007 (xls). Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland. Archived from the original (xls) on 2015-06-26. Retrieved 2014-10-17.
  2. ^ a b c Petra G. Smit (1973). "A Revision of Caltha (Ranunculaceae)". Blumea. 21: 119–150. Retrieved 2016-01-05.
  3. ^ Moss, C.E. (1920). The Cambridge British Flora. Vol. III. CUP Archive. pp. 104–105.
  4. ^ P.J. de Lange. "Caltha novae-zelandiae". New Zealand Plant Conservation Network. Retrieved 2016-01-11.
  5. ^ Archibald William Smith A Gardener's Handbook of Plant Names: Their Meanings and Origins, p. 258, at Google Books
  6. ^ "MOLLY-BLOB | Meaning & Definition for UK English | Lexico.com". Archived from the original on April 17, 2019.
  7. ^ a b c "RHS Plant Selector – Caltha palustris". Retrieved 20 June 2013.[permanent dead link]
  8. ^ "cowslip". Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary.
  9. ^
    OCLC 277203364.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link
    )
  10. ^ a b c d E.J. Weeda; R. Westra; C. Westra; T. Westra (1985). Nederlandse Oecologische Flora. Vol. 1. IVN. pp. 226–229.
  11. ^ Hilty, John (2020). "Marsh Marigold (Caltha palustris)". Illinois Wildflowers. Retrieved 2016-01-29.
  12. ISBN 978-9004090262
    .
  13. ^ Sue Trull. "Yellow Marsh Marigold". USDA – Plant of the week. Retrieved 2016-02-13.
  14. S2CID 83650928
    .
  15. ^ Hagerup, O. 1950. Rain-pollination. I kommission hos E. Munksgaard. Retrieved 26 May 2018.
  16. ^
    doi:10.1111/j.1601-5223.1992.tb00168.x
    .
  17. ^ "Marsh Marigold". NatureGate. Retrieved 2016-02-14.
  18. ^ Peter Zwetko: Die Rostpilze Österreichs. Supplement und Wirt-Parasit-Verzeichnis zur 2. Auflage des Catalogus Florae Austriae, III. Teil, Heft 1, Uredinales. (PDF; 1,8 MB).
  19. ^ a b "Caltha palustris". Native Plant Database. Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, University of Texas at Austin. Retrieved 2016-01-17.
  20. OCLC 244766414
    .
  21. ^ "Caltha palustris 'Flore Pleno'". RHS. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
  22. ^ Brontë, Charlotte (8 July 2018). "Shirley, by Currer Bell" – via Google Books.

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Caltha palustris.
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