Lesser Celandine but petals appear to be wrong (not enough of them)

[awarner]

Bit confused over this one, with the flowering seasons being screwed with the mild winter I found today among some old club rush what appears to be Lesser Celandine at least in leaf shape but the flower does not have enough petals as the images below show.
Strange but hunting around I can not find any other plant other than lesser celandine that fits the bill.

 

[Toddy]

They're up in my garden, but not yet flowering.
Do all the flowers have those weird petals ?
Looks more like a marsh marigold flower shape, tbh.
Does it look like something's been eating it though?

M

 

[birchwood]

Looks more like marsh marigold to me. Where was it growing?

Typed that at the same time as Toddy

 

[Goatboy]

Have you had any sharp frosts lately? Sometimes if the buds get frost damaged the petals won't form properly or even enough of them form at all.

Sent via smoke-signal from a woodland in Scotland.

 

[Drain Bamaged]

Have to agree with toddy, looks more like Marsh Marigold than Pilewort to me, hard to tell with the flowers being a bit battered but I would expect more petals on the Celandine.

D.B.

 

[Toddy]

Colin has a point though; the flowers do end up a bit weird if they've been frosted. Sometimes the first flowers are a bit weird anyway

Dig down and look.
If they're celandines those wee bulbs are unmistakeable

 

[Muddypaws]

I think they are Celandine. Some plants over my side of town which I know to be Celandine are looking a bit sorry for themselves, in fact looking very similar to your photo. As Goatboy says, frost could be the answer, and it has been flipping cold lately, even in the lush tropical south of England.

 

[awarner]

The other morning the car reported -11 at 5:30am so was a bit cold for the sunny Hampshire so that may be the cause for the lack of petals, one thing I did not consider.
The marsh marigold I am used to seeing elsewhere on the site normally has wider petals plus the leaves tend to be higher off the ground.
Lesser celandine is very common in this area more so than the marigold, which I have only seen grow in one other location the other side of the site.

 

[Toddy]

If the flowers open flat out in the sunshine, it's the celandine.
I think Colin has the right of it, and it'll be the frost nipping that's made them look queer.

The celandines come up between the slabs in my paths. Cheerful bright green with sunny faces
The marsh marigold grow in the damp grass down the bottom of the lane path. More buttercup looking flowers, iimmc.
I can see why you wondered and why we all did too
There are two lesser celandines as well though.

M

 

[awarner]

Two lesser celandines? could you explain the differences as I was not aware of that.
Thanks in advance.

 

[Toddy]

Clearest description I can find….

"Ranunculus ficaria exists in both diploid (2n=16) and tetraploid (2n=32) forms which are very similar in appearance. However, the tetraploid type prefer more shady locations and frequently develops bulbils at the base of the stalk. These two variants are sometimes referred to as distinct sub-species, R. ficaria ficaria and R. ficaria bulbilifer respectively."

I think on them as the one that you can see the little bulbils above the ground when the plant is in flower (that's the one that's most prevalent here) and the one that hides them away.

When mature the above ground one is very, very easily scattered just by brushing agin it with your foot. Probably an adaptation to low light levels in the woodlands, since it gives a greater chance of being spread around not just spreading from a 'mother' plants roots.

M

 

[awarner]

Almost forgot to update, new flowers have appeared and with more petals this time.
As the current samples are growing in an open but fairly wet area it will be interesting to see when the woodland plants catch up to see if I have both varieties.
Going to be a long wait as they are still very small at the moment so no chance of flowers yet, unlike the bluebells which are going crazy at the moment and will probably flower far too early.