CALTHA PALUSTRIS

Caltha palustris, known as marsh-marigold and kingcup, is a small to medium size perennial herbaceous plant of the buttercup family, native to marshes, fens, ditches and wet woodland in temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. It flowers between April and August, dependent on altitude and latitude, but occasional flowers may occur at other times.

Caltha palustris is a 10–80 cm high, hairless, fleshy, perennial, herbaceous plant, that dies down in autumn and overwinters with buds near the surface of the marshy soil. The plants have many, 2–3 mm thick strongly branching roots. Its flowering stems are hollow, erect or more or less decumbent. The alternate true leaves are in a rosette, each of which consist of a leaf stem that is about 4× as long as the kidney-shaped leaf blade, itself between 3–25 cm long and 3–20 cm wide, with a heart-shaped foot, a blunt tip, and a scalloped to toothed, sometime almost entire margin particularly towards the tip. In their youth the leaves are protected by a membranous sheath, that may be up to 3 cm long in fully grown plants.

Etymology

The generic name Caltha is derived from the Ancient Greek κάλαθος (kálathos), meaning "goblet", and is said to refer to the shape of the flower. The species epithet palustris is Latin for "of the marsh" and indicates its common habitat.

In the UK, Caltha palustris is known by a variety of vernacular names, varying by geographical region. These include in addition to the most common two, marsh marigold and kingcup, also brave bassinets, crazy Beth, horse blob, Molly-blob, May blob, mare blob, boots, water boots, meadow-bright, bullflower, meadow buttercup, water buttercup, soldier's buttons, meadow cowslip, water cowslip, publican's cloak, crowfoot, water dragon, drunkards, water goggles, meadow gowan, water gowan, yellow gowan, goldes, golds, goldings, gools, cow lily, marybuds, and publicans-and-sinners. The common name "marigold" refers to its use in medieval churches at Easter as a tribute to the Virgin Mary, as in "Mary gold". In North America Caltha palustris is sometimes known as cowslip. However, cowslip more often refers to Primula veris, the original plant to go by that name. Both are herbaceous plants with yellow flowers, but Primula veris is much smaller.

Culture

Caltha palustris is a plant commonly mentioned in literature, including Shakespeare:

Winking Marybuds begin

To open their golden eyes (Cymbeline, ii. 3).

It also appears in Charlotte Brontë's Shirley:

They both halted on the green brow of the Common: they looked down on the deep valley robed in May raiment; on varied meads, some pearled with daisies, and some golden with king-cups: to-day all this young verdure smiled clear in sunlight; transparent emerald and amber gleams played over it ^[9]

and in Thomas Hardy's poem 'Overlooking the River Stour':

Closed were the kingcups; and the mead/Dripped in monotonous green,/Though the day's morning sheen/Had shown it golden and honeybee'd.

Kingcup Cottage by Racey Helps is a children's book which features the plant.

In Latvia Caltha palustris is also known as gundega, which is also used as a girls name and symbolizes fire. The word gundega is made from 2 words – uguns ("fire") and dega ("burned"). This refers to the burning reaction that some people experience from contact with Caltha sap.