Ficaria

(lesser celandine), a genus of plants of the family Ranunculaceae. The genus is related to the genus Ranunculus, in which it is frequently included. The plants are perennial herbs with tuberous root sections. The stem is usually reduced, and the leaves are entire and mainly fleshy. The flowers are solitary, with yellow or golden petals. The fruit is a multiple nut with small swollen achenes. There are eight to ten species (or three to five species, with several subspecies). The plants are native to Eurasia. The USSR has five or six species. F. verna grows in the European USSR, Western Siberia, the Caucasus, and to a lesser extent, Middle Asia; the plant occurs in humid places, primarily in meadow-forest regions.