If you walk to Gudger Beach today, you will see large clumps of Fig Buttercups (lesser celandines).  Oh they are pretty; bright yellow flowers, glossy heart shaped leaves, some of the first cheery inklings of spring.

I had always thought they were marsh marigolds (cowslips) , but they are not.  They are  what the horticultural experts call an “insidiously invasive look-alike.”  The bad news is that the Fig Buttercup (which is neither a fig nor a buttercup) emerges earlier than many native species, and this developmental advantage allows it to establish and overtake areas rapidly. It seems to have come to Wardour about 5 or 6 years ago, a false friend.