Al Schneider's Rocky Mountains Plant Descriptions

White Marsh Marigold
Caltha leptosepala
Buttercup family (Ranunculaceae)

Marsh Marigolds often form dense colonies of thousands of plants in high mountain that are flooded during the spring thaw. Blue buds of the Marsh Marigold often push through the melting snow, opening into beautiful white blossoms similar to anemones. "Caltha" is Latin for "Marigold." (Some Calthas are yellow.) Marsh Marigolds are sometimes called "Elk's Lips" and that name is puzzling. Does the leaf look like an Elk's lip? In Aven Nelson's 1903 "An Analytical Key to Some of the Common Flowering Plants," the common name is not "Elk's Lip"; it is "Elk Slip," a name as mysterious in meaning as "Elk's Lip"!


©2014 Susan McDougall, Trees Live Here.

Description

Low, fleshy , 1-8" tall, with white, saucer-shaped flowers consisting of 5-12 petal-appearing , to oval, with a central with numerous yellow . Flowers usually solitary on stalks. Shiny green, very visibly veined leaves are , heart-shaped, and long-. Leaf margins to coarse- with wavy margins; leaf is slightly longer than wide. No leaves on stem.

Field Marks

White petals around yellow center, long- , found in wet soils.

© Al Schneider

stamen -- the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower; The stamen consists of an anther supported by a filament.

An entire leaf has smooth edges. Not toothed or lobed.

meadow -- Large grass and wildflower filled area with few, if any, trees.

A herb is a plant whose stems die back to the ground in the winter.

A perennial plant lives and blooms for many years.

Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom.

basal -- at the base, situated or attached at the base.

Like the teeth on a saw, leaves and other surfaces can have toothed edges.

stalk -- The supporting structure of an organ. Examples of stalks are stem, peduncle, petiole, ...

disc flowers are those in the center of a sunflower or daisy. Not a ray flower.

basal leaves -- a leaf that grows lowest on the stem of a plant.

oblong -- Having an elongated form with somewhat parallel sides. Rectangular.