Very Important Plant

Sometimes you just can’t improve on nature, and the king cup, Caltha palustris, is perfect proof of that. This bold perennial, found growing wild on the banks of slow-moving streams, ponds and ditches, or luxuriating in boggy, wet soil, is often among the early flowers of March. The bright golden-yellow buttercups last for ages, really coming into their own in April, often continuing to August, appearing on upright 30cm (12in) stalks that nestle just above the flush of fresh, new, toothy, kidney-shaped leaves.

The flowers contain copious amounts of pollen and nectar, so are an important source of food for early bees and other pollinators. The seeds are dispersed by rainsplash, and have spongy tissue, which enables them to float in water until they’re washed up on fresh mud where they germinate.

This wildflower is a real survivor, withstanding prolonged immersion in water up to 20cm (8in) deep and flooded conditions – just the plant for the topsy-turvy wet weather we’re experiencing these days. It’s also shade-tolerant, often found growing in ponds in woodland clearings.

Besides growing throughout the UK, it’s also widespread in the northern hemisphere and so is variable in appearance. In gardens, a number of forms are grown, most notably white-flowered ‘Alba’ and double-petalled ‘Flore Pleno’. Other selections on sale are just variants in colour and form of the species and two forms above.