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Answer
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Carolyn
asked
on
5/11/2006,
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Dear Jim, My good friend Allison and I enjoy hiking along a marsh road in a county park near our home, especially in spring. We love hearing all sounds of spring like the blackbirds and spring peepers. The other day we noticed hundreds of bright yellow flowering plants blooming in the wooded areas of the marsh. It's still pretty cold and there's nothing else really blooming yet. What are these flowers? Can we pick them for floral arrangement? |
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Jim's answer: |
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Carolyn, the bright orange-yellow blossums you're seeing in early spring are called "marsh marigolds" or "cowslips" as they are know by some. Despite their common names, this plant is neither a marigold nor a cowslip but rather a member of the buttercup family. You can tell by the shiny, waxy-looking flower pedals common to all buttercups. To me spring really doesn't start until these beauties begin to light up local swamps, marshlands, and the sides of slow moving streams with the yellow glow of their blossoms. Each plant may have a dozen or more flowerheads which often bloom long before other wild flowers show up. They sometimes even bloom before the surrounding trees and bushes leaf out which really make them stand out in the otherwise drab brown landscape. Marsh marigolds are not an endangered plant although they are threatened by the loss of habitat through the draining of swamps and filling wet area for cropland and urban sprawl construction. All plants and flowers are protected by law on public lands so you can't pick them for floral arrangements in city, county or state parks and forests. I wouldn't advise picking them on private land either even if you have permission since like nearly all early spring wildflowers, they tend to droop and die almost as soon as they're picked and never seem to rejuvenate themselves once you get them in a vase back home. Another thing to consider is that all parts of the marsh marigold plant are considered poisonous. Just picking or handling them won't do any harm but they should never be eaten raw. Despite this warning, the plant's leaves are safe to eat when properly cooked for some reason and are actually rich in Vitamin A, Vitamin C, and iron. I tried this out a few years ago and found the cooked leaves to taste very much like spinach and were very tasty, especially with a dab of melted butter or margine on them. In some parts of Europe and America, people still make marsh marigold pickles from the plant's flower buds. Have fun enjoying the brilliant marsh marigold bloom in early spring and my advise is to purchase your flower arrangements (and spinach) at the local supermarket. |
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