(Caltha palustris) is a perennial herbaceous plant of the buttercup family (Ranunculaceae) native to wetlands in Europe and North America. It is grown in boggy wild gardens but it stunning at the edge of a wild or a formal pond too.
The stem of a marsh marigold is hollow, and the leaves are kidney-shaped, heart-shaped, or round. The glossy flowers are 2.5 to 5 cm (1 to 2 inches) across and have yellow sepals. Petals are absent.
The common name of marigold refers to its use in churches in medieval times at Easter as a tribute to the Virgin Mary, as in Mary gold. The specific name palustris, Latin for "of the marsh", indicates its common habitat.
Richard Mabey, in his fascinating book Flora Britannica, describes Caltha palustris thus:
"Marsh-marigolds are in decline as agricultural land continues to be drained, but they are still the most three-dimensional of plants, their fleshy leaves and shiny petals impervious to wind and snow, and standing in sharp relief against the tousled brown of frostbitten grasses. Most of the plant's surviving local names - water-blobs, molly-blobs, water-bubbles - reflect this solidity, especially the splendid, rotund 'the publican' from Lancashire"
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 that has tubular flowers.
