The Romantic History and Uncertain Future of Our Beloved Lesser Celandine

To coincide with Lesser Celandine Day, Charlotte Dacre, Ancient Woodland Inventory Officer at Wiltshire & Swindon Biological Record Centre, explores the history and future of the small but beautiful lesser celandine.

As the days get longer, our spirits get brighter and we start to search for the first signs of spring. For many botanists, February 21^st marks such an occasion, as this is when a familiar yellow flower begins to carpet our landscape…

The flower in question is the lesser celandine (Ficaria verna), a remarkable star-shaped, golden beauty from the buttercup family. If you’re lucky, you may find one or two in your garden, but typically this flower is a damp dwelling species. If you want to find one for yourself, I suggest exploring spaces you think they could brighten, such as overgrown woodlands, hidden streams, and juvenile meadows.

The Romantic History of the Lesser Celandine

The return of the humble swallow (Hirundo rustica) is the namesake behind the lesser celandine. To understand the association between the two, we need to back to the 18^th century, when Gilbert White (a well-known naturalist and ornithologist) first noted that the return of the swallow coincided with the blooming of the lesser celandine. White observed that the swallow (and other migrants) often returned close to the end of February, contradicting the observations of his peers¹. This revelation, although not radical, was due to his southern residence in Selborne, Hampshire.

If you would like to learn more about Gilbert White, I suggest reading “The Natural History and Antiqutites of Selborne” (1789).

The Call of Spring Climate Change

Swallows are celebrated all over Europe in nature and folklore alike, and here in the UK their beloved call is a sure sign that spring is on the way. Wiltshire was once one of the lucky counties to be first in line to hear the call of spring, however, this is changing due to climate crisis. The once harsh winters of the UK encouraged our swallows to migrate to Africa, but with many counties in the south and south-west experiencing milder climates, records of swallows returning earlier or overwintering in England are not uncommon².

A similar phenomenon is occurring with the lesser celandine.

For us, the lesser celandine is a symbol of spring, hope, and new beginnings, but for queen bees, they’re one of the first (and sometimes the only) food sources available following a harsh winter. Their vibrancy is not for our benefit; they sign-post our pollinators when resources are scarce³.

Yet in just a few decades, this has changed. Our milder winters have deceived our wildflowers into blooming earlier than previously recorded, which is likely to be catastrophic for our pollinators in the long-term⁴. Furthermore, the Lesser Celandine is a hardy but water dependent wildflower, and as the climate warms, their habitats become displaced, which could influence the location and frequency of flowering⁵. These changes have a cultural impact, too, with our definition of Spring becoming just as muddy as the spaces from which the flowers grow.