Marsh marigold (Caltha leptosepala) is a perennial in the buttercup family. We encounter it most often in subalpine and alpine wet meadows.

• The plant has fleshy, thick, fibrous roots.
• Stems rise above the base and are erect, rising from 5 to 30 cm.
• Leaves are mostly basal, thick, green, and waxy.
• Leaf shapes vary from kidney-shaped to oval to arrow-shaped to heart-shaped.
• Single, showy terminal flowers develop with white or greenish-white sepals and many yellow sepals.
• The center of the flower is usually a yellowish-greenish color.
• The backs of the flowers have a bluish tinge.
• All photos by the author. Click an image for a lightbox view and caption.

• Clusters of seed capsules form in summer.
• The plant often develops before the snows have finished melting.
• They have been a traditional food for First Nations people, cooking the leaves, flower buds, and roots.
• Other names include elkslip, white marsh marigold, and mountain marsh marigold.

We most often spot marsh marigold in subalpine meadows in late June or our way up mountains, sometimes with globeflower, glacier lilies, and other early alpine bloomers. We see them again in July in alpine zones when we hike to the summits of mountains in the Interior. It is something we look forward to each year.