Lesser Celandine, or Pilewort, is a small perennial of the buttercup family. It frequently forms flat, matted clumps. The flowers have eight narrow petals; at first they are bright yellow and later they fade to white. The leaves are dark, thick, heart-shaped and on long stalks.
The plant grows wild all over Ireland on damp shady banks and at the edge of woods. There is a variety which reproduces by little bulb formed at the base of the leaves.
The flowers appear from March to May.
Lesser Celandine grows throughout Europe and western Asia. It had been introduced into North America.