General Plant Information (Edit)
Plant Habit: Herb/Forb
Life cycle: Perennial
Water Preferences: In Water
Wet
Minimum cold hardiness: Zone 2 -45.6 °C (-50 °F) to -42.8 °C (-45°F)
Maximum recommended zone: Zone 10a
Plant Height: 4-20 in. (10-50cm)
Leaves: Unusual foliage color
Flowers: Showy
Flower Color: Yellow
Bloom Size: 1"-2"
Flower Time: Spring
Late spring or early summer
Underground structures: Rhizome
Suitable Locations: Bog gardening
Uses: Water gardens
Will Naturalize
Wildlife Attractant: Bees
Toxicity: Leaves are poisonous
Roots are poisonous
Fruit is poisonous
Propagation: Seeds: Can handle transplanting
Propagation: Other methods: Division
Stolons and runners
Offsets
Pollinators: Beetles
Flies
Bees
Miscellaneous: Goes Dormant

Image
Common names
  • Marsh Marigold
  • Cowslip
  • Yellow Marsh Marigold
  • Kingcup

Photo Gallery
Location: Hortus Camera Lapidea
Date: 2023-04-09
Location: Pennsylvania
Date: 2023-04-21
Caltha palustris
Location: Natural wetlands area in northeastern Indiana.
Date: 2012-04-01
Location: Plymouth Nursery, Plymouth, MI
Date: 2011-05-12
Location: Natural wetlands area in northeastern Indiana.
Date: 2012-04-01
En masse
Location: Natural wetlands area in northeastern Indiana.
Date: 2012-04-01
Location: charlottetown, pei, canada
Date: 2014-05-18
Marsh Marigold (Caltha palustris),in a marshy area nearby.
Location: Oxfordshire, England
Date: 2016-04-08
Location: Indiana  zone 5
Date: 2016-04-23
Location: my garden, Gent, Belgium
Date: 16th April 2011

Credit florum
Location: Plymouth Nursery, Plymouth, MI
Date: 2010-04-18
Location: Dearborn Heights, MI
Date: 2017-04-08
My Yard, growing in pond.
Location: Plymouth Nursery, Plymouth, MI
Date: 2010-04-18

Date: 2009-04-22
Location: Botanical garden of Barcelona (Spain)
Date: 2022-04-23

Credit florum
Location: Dearborn Heights, MI
Date: 2012-04-06
My Yard, growing in pond.
Location: Plymouth Nursery, Plymouth, MI
Date: 2010-04-18
Location: Plymouth Nursery, Plymouth, MI
Date: 2011-05-12
Location: My garden in Gent, Belgium
Date: 2010-05-17

Photo Courtesy of Prairie Nursery. Used with Permission
  • Uploaded by Joy

Photo Courtesy of Prairie Nursery. Used with Permission
  • Uploaded by Joy
Location: At home
Date: 2021-05-09
Location: Jenkins Arboretum in Berwyn, Pennsylvania
Date: 2017-04-16
a group at the bog garden
Location: Natural wetlands area in northeastern Indiana.
Date: 2012-04-01

photo credit: H. Zell
Location: my garden, Gent, Belgium
Date: 13th April 2009

Credit florum
Location: Staveley Nature Reserve North Yorkshire
Date: 2017-05
Location: Skaneateles Conservation Area
photo credit: R. A. Nonenmacher
Location: My garden in Gent, Belgium
Date: 2012-04-01
Young foliage in early spring.
Location: Talmage pennsylvania
Date: 2016-05-10
Grows along the stream in the local park
Location: RHS Harlow Carr, Yorkshire, UK
Date: 2021-04-10
Location: Natural wetlands area in northeastern Indiana.
Date: 2012-04-02
Location: Natural wetlands area in northeastern Indiana.
Date: 2012-04-01
Location: My garden in Gent, Belgium
Date: 2013-04-27

Photo Courtesy of Lazy S'S Farm Nursery.
  • Uploaded by Joy

photo by ghislain118

Photo Courtesy of Lazy S'S Farm Nursery.
  • Uploaded by Joy

photo credit: H. Zell
This plant is tagged in:
Image Image

Comments:
  • Posted by robertduval14 (Milford, New Hampshire - Zone 5b) on Sep 19, 2016 7:12 PM concerning plant:
    National flower of the Faroe Islands.
  • Posted by Mindy03 (Delta KY) on Feb 12, 2012 12:45 PM concerning plant:
    Honey bees get nectar and pollen from this plant.
  • Posted by mellielong (Lutz, Florida - Zone 9b) on Apr 23, 2015 11:51 AM concerning plant:
    The book "How to Know the Wildflowers" (1922) by Mrs. William Starr Dana has some interesting information regarding this plant. Apparently, the marsh marigold is so abundant along certain English rivers that the ground looks as though it is paved in gold during the seasons when they overflow their banks. In the U.S. the author states the flowers are peddled on the streets every spring under the name "cowslip" but attributes this to confusion regarding English names. (That's why real gardeners use Latin!) She claims the plant is a favorite "pot-herb" among country people, supposedly far superior to spinach. The young buds are also quite palatable, she says. (Note: Do not eat things if you don't know that they're safe.)

    As for the name, this plant has many. She speaks of the plant being called "Mary Growles" in the 16th century, and by early English poets as simply "gold". She hypothesizes the first part of the word may derive from the Anglo-Saxon "mere", meaning a marsh. The author suggests "Marsh-Gold" to be a far superior name for this "shining flower of the marshes."
  • Posted by SongofJoy (Clarksville, TN - Zone 6b) on Jan 19, 2012 10:13 AM concerning plant:
    Marsh Marigold is a late spring bloomer for a sunny, moist area. Fifteen-inch mounded clumps of bright green, succulent, wavy-edged, rounded leaves produce bright yellow, shiny, 1 inch flowers that look like buttercups and are present from late spring to early summer. Marsh Marigold needs rich soil that never gets dry. If soil dries too much in the summer, the plant will go dormant. It will thrive in a wet sunny area.
  • Posted by Cyclaminist (Minneapolis, Minnesota - Zone 5a) on May 3, 2015 1:58 AM concerning plant:
    I planted this in a half whiskey barrel filled with compost to give it wet soil. It survived the winter, but lost its flower buds. Needs to be buried to protect it.
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bzrhart On May 7, 2017 Obtained plant
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