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Lesser celandine (Ficaria verna) is not listed in Haliburton Flora, nor would we want it to be. It’s very invasive and can quickly carpet a wetland, choking out the native plants.
My sister lives near a park where the entire riverbank for a hundred feet or more – the whole floodplain – is filled with this specific buttercup. This takeover started in northeastern states and is now spreading through the midwest. It’s illegal to sell in some places, but the law lags behind in many others. If you want to be involved in saving wetlands and more, check out the Facebook group Canadian Coalition for Invasive Plant Regulation (CCIPR) and their website.
Edible Uses of Lesser Celandine
The small tubers of this buttercup are edible cooked. They are best collected when the plant is dormant in fall and winter.
The young leaves are edible after boiling in a change or two of water to remove the bitterness.
This is not a particularity palatable plant, and is from a rather poisonous family, so proper identification is a must. Cooking and drying can remove most of the irritants in lesser celandine. It’s a SHTF starvation food that is worth nothing since it’s so invasive and growingly common.
Medicinal Uses of Lesser Celandine
Lesser Celandine is primarily said to support these body systems:
- Integumentary
Medicinal tags include Analgesic, Antispasmodic, Astringent and Mucilage. See Medicinal tag key for more information.
Common usage is an ointment for hemorrhoids AKA piles. It has the folk name pilewort for this. However handling it can cause skin irritation and even blistering, and the fresh plant will need to be dried or heat extraction will need to be utilized to make an ointment.
While some herbalists compare this to celandine, it’s not the same.
Growing Buttercups
This is an extremely invasive nonnative plant. Here’s a picture of it throughout an entire wetland, having crowded out native plants:
Native marsh marigold (Caltha palustris) is more of a lookalike than many of our native buttercups. It’s also hugely valuable to wildlife including pollinators and one of the earlier spring flowers. We have many native buttercups as well which are visited by many small insects and wildlife. But beware whatever “buttercup” is sold in gardening centers, as many of these companies simply don’t care about their impact. Landscaping has too often been about profit and aesthetics only, without any consideration for the local ecosystem. Change is slow.
WARNINGS
The buttercup family is toxic and fresh plants can cause skin irritation.
And the Usual Cautions:
1) Most medicinal herbs, if edible, are meant to be eaten in moderation, even sparingly. Some require extra preparation. Tannins are toxic if consumed in excess. Before taking any new supplements, you should consult with a healthcare professional.
2) A vast amount of these herbs are diuretic. (See the Medicinal tags above to check if this featured herb is one of them!) Diuretics are generally safe, but they can be risky for people with other medical conditions or who take certain medications. Please consult your doctor if you have any health conditions.
3) People can be allergic or sensitive to nearly any plant; try new herbs one at a time at your own risk. For instance, saponins commonly cause stomach upset.
4) For serious medicinal use, I must recommend receiving a diagnosis and working with a reputed health care provider. I generally do not post specific treatments and dosages because I think that is best between you and your health care provider, and ideally monitored.
5) Anyone pregnant, nursing, or taking prescription drugs should talk to a health care professional before adding new food items to their diet.
6) Many plants have look-a-likes, and sometimes they are poisonous.
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REFERENCES
My new favourite foraging book is Sam Thayer’s Field Guide to Edible Wild Plants: of Eastern and Central North America (The Sam Thayer’s Field Guides) Paperback – June 1, 2023 and this plant IS featured as one of the edible wild plants in this area. I highly recommend this guide for your bookshelves!
https://data.canadensys.net/vascan/taxon/8515?lang=en
Indian Herbalogy of North America: The Definitive Guide to Native Medicinal Plants and Their Uses