Lesser celandine

With a few days of sun (thank you, God), things are bursting into flower. Here's one of my favourite wildflowers, lesser celandine, which is suddenly all over the place.

Sorry for the chopped petal - I'm still learning about close-ups

The flowers only open when the sun is out*, and it takes its name from chelidon, the Greek for swallow. Goodness knows why since swallows (in my experience) arrive about April and celandines January–March.

My wildflower book says that it can be a troublesome weed but I love having it in the garden. It grows in the shade, provides good ground cover and makes way for later flowers with perfect grace.

A carpet of lesser celandine in the hedge. (Spot the dog.)

It’s a member of the buttercup family but not related to greater celandine (which is a poppy). I used to confuse it with winter aconite, another small yellow shade-growing early-spring flower but the leaves of the two are actually quite different. (Nor is winter aconite native.)

Winter aconite - which has what they call 'strap-like' leaves

 

Lesser celandine, with its adorable trowel-shaped leaves

* So the books say. I was out today (Sunday) in the rain and several celandine were open. I shall study the subject.