PAPAVERACE^) POPPY FAMILY 



Chelidonium majus, L. 



Deep yellow Great Celandine, 



Swallow-wort, 



May-September Devil's Milk, 



Kill-wort, 

 Felon-wort. 



Chelidonium: Greek for swallow. It is said that the 

 swallows come with the first opening flower and depart 

 as the last bloom fades. 



Majus: Latin for larger. 



THE PREFERRED HABITAT: dry roadsides in town. 



THE PLANT: one foot to two feet high, branched; the stems 

 with short, soft hairs, exuding orange-yellow juice, when 

 broken. 



THE LEAVES: alternate; thin; one to two pinnately divided; 

 the parts ovate or obovate, toothed or lobed; with a bloom 

 beneath; on stems that are often swollen at the base. 



THE FLOWERS: less than an inch broad; in small umbels, 

 in the axils of the leaves; the four petals rounded; sixteen 

 to twenty-four stamens. 



THE FRUIT: a hairless capsule, tipped with the persistent 

 style and stigma (the tiny knob). 



A common weed, found usually about town. The light 

 green, lustreless leaves are rather decoratively lobed. 

 The small, yellowish flowers, with frail petals, have a 

 prominent green style and many yellow stamens. Some 

 at least are still in bloom when the magenta-coloured 

 seed-vessels form thin lines, tipped with long and persist- 



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