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Caltha leptosepala Dc.

White marsh marigold (en)

Species

Angiosperms > Ranunculales > Ranunculaceae > Caltha

Characteristics

Stems leafless or with 1 leaf, erect. Basal leaves: blade oblong-ovate to orbiculate-reniform, largest 1.5-11.5(-15) × 1-13cm, margins entire or crenate to dentate. Inflorescences 1-2(-4)-flowered. Flowers 15-40 mm diam.; sepals white to yellow (abaxially bluish), 8.5-23 mm. Follicles 4-15, spreading, short-stipitate or sessile, linear-oblong; bodies 10-20 × 3-4.5 mm; style and stigma straight or curved, 0.5-1.8 mm. Seeds elliptic, 1.9-2.5 mm. 2 n =48,96.
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A herb. It keeps growing from year to year. It has a short erect rootstock. It grows 30 cm high and spreads 30 cm wide. The leaves are fleshy and heart-shaped. The flowers occur singly and are silvery white. They are on leafless stalks which stick up above the leaves. The fruiting heads are shaped like a top and contain several pods which contain many seeds.
Life form perennial
Growth form herb
Growth support -
Foliage retention deciduous
Sexuality hermaphrodite
Pollination entomogamy
Spread -
Mature width (meter) 0.1 - 0.5
Mature height (meter) 0.25 - 0.3
Root system -
Rooting depth (meter) 0.2
Root diameter (meter) -
Flower color
Blooming months
JanFebMar
AprMayJun
JulAugSep
OctNovDec
Fruit color -
Fruiting months -
Nitrogen fixer -
Photosynthetic pathway c3

Environment

It grows in wet alpine and subalpine meadows in the Rocky Mountains. It suits cold climates. It is best in a moist, peaty, well-drained soil. It is resistant to frost but damaged by drought. It suits hardiness zones 6-9.
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Open, wet, subalpine and alpine marshes, wet seepages and marshy meadows; at elevations from 750-3,900 metres.
Light 7-9
Soil humidity 7-10
Soil texture 1-6
Soil acidity 3-8
Soil nutriment -
Hardiness (USDA) 3-7

Usage

Caution: Only the very young leaves are boiled in 2 changes of water then eaten. They are used as a potherb. Flower buds are pickled as capers. The roots are boiled and eaten.
Uses environmental use medicinal poison potherb
Edible flowers leaves roots
Therapeutic use Dermatological Aid (unspecified)
Human toxicity -
Animal toxicity -

Cultivation

Plants can be grown from seed. They can also be grown by division.
Mode divisions seedlings
Germination duration (days) 30 - 90
Germination temperacture (C°) 12 - 15
Germination luminosity -
Germination treatment -
Minimum temperature (C°) -30
Optimum temperature (C°) -
Size -
Vigor -
Productivity -

Images

Leaf

Caltha leptosepala leaf picture by Ethan Greer (cc-by-sa)

Flower

Caltha leptosepala flower picture by Mara Lorch (cc-by-sa)

Distribution

Caltha leptosepala world distribution map, present in Canada and United States of America

Conservation status

Caltha leptosepala threat status: Least Concern

Identifiers

LSID urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:42853-2
WFO ID wfo-0000581628
COL ID Q4P5
BDTFX ID -
INPN ID -
Wikipedia (EN) Link
Wikipedia (FR) Link

Synonyms

Caltha leptosepala f. chionophila Caltha malvacea Caltha auriculata Caltha chelidonii Caltha lasopetala Caltha leptosepala Caltha macounii Caltha rotundifolia Caltha leptostachya Caltha uniflora Psychrophila leptosepala Caltha biflora var. rotundifolia Caltha leptosepala var. macounii Caltha leptosepala var. rotundifolia Caltha leptosepala var. leptosepala Caltha biflora var. howellii Caltha leptosepala var. sulfurea
WorldFloraDB 2024