Feigwurz
also known as Ficaria verna




Division - Magnoliaphyta
Class - Magnoliopsida
Subclass - Magnoliidae
Order - Ranunculales
Family - Ranunculaceae
Genus - Ranunculus

This is generally a more suburban weed, not common in the inner city, though it can be found there, especially when accidentally transferred in dirt. The example above was found in South Philly, within ten blocks south of Center City. The plant has completely taken over areas of Fairmount Park in the Wissahickon area, as seen below. The wetlands photos (2-5) were taken in F.D.R. Park next to the ponds there. When I worked in areas around Chestnut Hill and Mt. Airy as a fine gardener, this was one of the most common and insidious plants we dealt with infestations of, and one of the first five my employer taught me to recognize.