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''Caltha palustris'', known as marsh-marigold and kingcup, is a perennial herbaceous plant of the family Ranunculaceae, native to marshes, fens, ditches and wet woodland in temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. It becomes most luxuriant in partial shade, but is rare on peat. In the United Kingdom, it is probably one of the most ancient native plants, surviving the glaciations and flourishing after the last retreat of the ice, in a landscape inundated with glacial meltwaters. Height is up to tall. The leaves are rounded to kidney-shaped, across, with a bluntly serrated margin and a thick, waxy texture. Stems are hollow. The flowers are yellow, 2–5 cm (1–2 in) diameter, with 4-9 (mostly 5) petal-like sepals and many yellow stamens; they appear in early spring to late summer. The flowers are visited by a great variety of insects for pollen and for the nectar secreted from small depressions, one on each side of each carpel. Carpels form into green sac-like follicles to 1 cm long, each opening to release several seeds. ''Caltha palustris'' is a highly polymorphic species, showing continuous and independent variation in many features. Forms in the UK may be divided into two subspecies: ''Caltha palustris'' subsp. ''palustris'', and ''Caltha palustris'' subsp. ''minor''. It is sometimes considered a weed in clay-like garden soils, where every piece of its root will survive and spread. In warm free-draining soils, it simply dies away. As is the case with many members of the family Ranunculaceae, all parts of the plant are poisonous and can be irritant. Skin rashes and dermatitis have been reported from excessive handling of the plant. It is known to sometimes kill cows and will happily grow in cow manure. 〔(【引用サイトリンク】 Common Poisonous Weeds )〕 ==Other names and etymology== In the UK, ''Caltha palustris'' is known by a variety of common names, varying by geographical region. These include marsh marigold and kingcup (the two most frequently used common names), mayflower, May blobs, mollyblobs, pollyblobs, horse blob, water blobs, water bubbles, gollins. Balfae (in Caithness) and the publican. The common name of marigold refers to its use in medieval churches 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 ''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.〔(【引用サイトリンク】 cowslip )〕〔(【引用サイトリンク】 cowslip )〕〔(【引用サイトリンク】 cowslip )〕 Both are herbaceous plants with yellow flowers, but ''Primula veris'' is much smaller. ''Caltha palustris'' is a plant commonly mentioned in literature, including Shakespeare: :''Winking Marybuds begin'' :''To open their golden eyes'' (''Cymbeline'', ii. 3). ''Kingcup Cottage'' by Racey Helps is a children's book which features the plant. In Latvia Caltha palustris is also known as ''Gundega'' which is also used as a girls name which symbolizes fire. The word ''Gundega'' is made from 2 words - ''uguns'' (fire) and ''dega'' (burned). This refers to the burning reaction that some people experience from contact with ''Caltha'' sap. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Caltha palustris」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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