Marsh Marigold | Plant Information

Plant Data

Order:

Ranunculales

Family:

Ranunculaceae (Buttercup)

Type:

Flower

Flowering Months:

JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC

Flower:

Yellow, 5 petals

5-8 large glossy yellow sepals, up to 5cm wide. No petals.

Fruit:

A curved capsule.

Leaves:

Dark green, rounded, heart-shaped, glossy, waxy leaves. Long-stalked. Often mottled with pale green markings on the upper surfaces of the leaves.

Maximum Size:

60 centimetres tall

Foraging Notes:

Flower buds can be picked and eaten as a caper substitute. The young leaves and roots can also be cooked and eaten. You should never eat this plant raw as it contains the toxin glycoside protoanemonin.
Never consume a wild plant unless you are 100% certain that it is safe to eat and you know that you have identified it correctly.

Other Names:

American Cowslip, Boots, Brave Bassinets, Bullflower, Bull's Eyes, Capers, Coltsfoot, Cow Lily, Cowflock, Cowslip, Crazy Beth, Crazy Bets, Crowfoot, Drunkards, Giant Kingcup, Goldes, Goldings, Golds, Gollins, Gools, Greater Kingcup, Horse Blob, Kingcup, Kingcup Marsh Marigold, Leopard's Foot, Mare Blob, Marybuds, May Blobs, Mayflower, Meadow Buttercup, Meadow Cowslip, Meadow Gowan, Meadow Routs, Meadow-bright, Mollyblobs, Palsy Root, Pollyblobs, Publican's Cloak, Publicans-and-sinners, Soldier's Buttons, Water Blobs, Water Boots, Water Bubbles, Water Cowslip, Water Dragon, Water Goggles, Water Gowan, Yellow Gowan, Yellow Marsh Marigold.

Frequency (UK):

Common

Habitats:

Bogs, ditches, fens, grassland, marshes, meadows, swamps, waterside, wetland, woodland.