POPPY FAMILY 



GREATER CELANDINE 



Chelidonium mdjiis 



From chelidon, a swallow, because it appeared at the 

 time the swallows came. 



Perennial. Naturalized from Europe. Dry waste land, 

 roadsides, near dwellings. Throughout New England 



andthe Middle West. Fre- 

 quent in northern Ohio. 

 April-September. 



Stem. — Weak, one to two 

 feet high, branching, 

 sHghtly hairy, containing 

 bright-orange, acrid, juice. 



Leaves. — Thin, four to 

 eight inches long, deeply 

 cleft into five, irregular, 

 oval lobes, the terminal one 

 the largest. 



Flowers. — Lusterless yel- 

 low, one-half an inch across, 

 on slender pedicels, in a 

 small, umbel-like cluster. 



Sepals. — Two, falling 

 early. 



Petals. — Four, rounded. 



Stamens. — Many, yel- 

 low. 



Pistil. — One, maturing into a long capsule tipped with 

 style and stigma. 



The Celandine is a loose, branching herb sprawling 

 along roadsides and waste places, and on the site of 

 old buildings. The pale-green stalk has a whitish 



94 



Celandine. Chelidonium mdjus 



