Marsh Marigold (Kingcups)

Caltha palustris

Winking Marybuds begin 

To ope their golden eyes

William Shakespeare, Cymbeline - date uncertain

1. Marsh-marigold flowers 

Marsh-marigolds (Caltha palustris) can be found, as the name suggests, in marshy areas. That means two places in Leazes Park; first, in the floating beds at the side of the lake and second, in early spring, a few usually pop up in the marshy area just north of the tennis courts.
Historically marsh marigold has gone by a variety of names including kingcups and in the middle ages, because of a supposed association with the Virgin Mary, they were called marybuds or Mary-gold. Perhaps my favourite old name is 'mare-blob' which may be derived from 'mere-blob' an allusion to its habitat or just a corruption of the name 'marybud'. Perhaps the most poetic name of all though is the Italian folk name 'Spose di Sole' or 'Bride of the Sun' and when you see its vivid yellow flowers shining out from the remains of last years vegetation by the lake the name seems quite appropriate. The genus name Caltha is derived from the Greek word for a goblet and palustris is Latin for 'of the marsh'.
At first sight, marsh-marigolds look like giant buttercups and they belong to the same family, the Ranunculaceae which is a very old family, in evolutionary terms. However, despite their similarities, they are in a different genus to buttercups and they differ, for example, in not having shiny 'petals' and in not having sepals.
The pattern of separate radial petals and numerous separate stamens and carpals is a feature of 'primitive plants' or a group that split off the main lineage a long time ago. Although this is indeed the case with the Ranunculaceae, there are members of the family that do have fused petals and bilateral symmetry, delphiniums for example and 'primitive' flowers are in truth, amazingly complex.
The marsh-marigold is a little unusual in that it does not have true petals and the bright yellow petal-like structures are in fact modified sepals sometimes called petal-like sepals. You can verify this yourself, if you look at a marsh-marigold from below, you will see no green sepals and overlying petals as you would with buttercups (see picture 4 below).
The plant grows up to 60 cms high and has a stout hollow stem. The leaves are kidney-shaped and measure 5-15 cms in diameter. They are hairless, shiny and green above, though the underside is paler.

2. Marsh-marigold  in floating beds of Leazes Park Lake

3. Flower showing 5 petaloid sepals and numerous stamens arranged around the carpels

4. Marsh marigold flower from below. Note the absence of 'sepals'

5. Marsh-marigold leaves. Shiny green above and paler below.

6. Radially arranged seed pods.

7. Progression - the petals wilt and drop off leaving stamens and carpels, the stamens disappear
and the carpels mature into seed pods

As with many other flowers, don't give up on marsh-marigolds when the 'petals' are dropping off. Instead, keep coming to see them on your regular walks in the park. Some rather magnificent seed pods will develop. Strictly speaking, as is typical of the Ranunculaceae, these are achenes or fruits containing a single seed. Look closely at them and they have a somewhat alien appearance with glistening spikes radiating out from a central point.
So, marsh-marigolds are yet another good reason to get out into the park, look at the floating beds by the lake, enjoy the flowers and thank the Angling Club for planting those floating flower beds.