88 



I»APAVERACE^. 



pears to have followed antimony and aciuill into comparative and probably 

 unmerited disuse. 



CIIEIilDONIUM.— Celandine. 



Chelidonium majus lAnne.— Celandine. 



Dcticriptioii. — Calyx : sopiils 2, ovate, yellowish, caducous. Corolla : 

 petals 4, sub-orbicular, contracted at the base, yellow, early deciduous. 

 Stamens indefinite in number, hypogyuous, shorter than the jjctals ; an- 

 thers 2-lobed. Ovary elongated, cylindrical, slightly bent, composed of 2 

 carpels separated by an incomplote partiliou, many-ovuled ; stylo veiy short, 

 the 2-lobed stigma appai-ently sessile upon the ovary. Fruit a dxv jjod, lin- 

 ear, 2-valved, the valves opening from below 

 upward, becoming detached and leaving the 

 dissepiment persistent iijion the stem. 



An herbaceous perennial, with a fusiform 

 root, ei'ect, branching, somewhat hairy stems, 

 1 to 2 foot 1 1 igh, alternate, pinnatoly divided 

 or bi-pinnatitid leaves, and small flowers in 

 small jicdunculate umbels at the summits 

 of the brivuches. Leaflets 3 to 7, the lobes 

 incised, crcnale, petiohdate, or decurrent 

 upon the common petiole, glabrous above, 

 glaucous undeinioath. The flowers are pro- 

 duced throughout the summer. All parts 

 of the plant are pervaded with an acrid, 

 saflfron-colored juice. 



Habitat. — A native of Europe, celandine 

 has become fully naturalized here, growing 

 about old buildings and fences and along roadsides. 



Part Used. — The entire jilant — United States Pliarniacopoeia. 

 ConiititHent>(. — Celandine has a rather unpleasant odor, and a persistent, 

 aciid, bitter taste, which is stronger in the root than in the leaves. The 

 juice possesses the same sensible properties, though to a more intense de- 

 gree. The odor is lost in drying, but the taste remains. An analysis of 

 the plant by Probst yielded a peculiar acid, chelidonia, two alkaline jjrinci- 

 ples, the one, chelerythrine, forming salts with acids, the other, cheledonine, 

 uniting with acids without neutralizing them, and finally a neutral crj's- 

 tallizable, bitter principle termed chelido.ranthin. Chelerythrine is said to 

 be an acrid narcotic poison, while cheledonine has been shown to be iden- 

 tical with mn(juinarine, the most important constituent of bloodroot. 



Preparations. — Tliere are no official preparations. The expressed juice 

 is very active, and affords a convenient mode of administration when ob- 

 tainable. Tlie dried root or herb may be administered in substance, de- 

 coction, or infusion, or a watery extract may be employed. 



Fio. 103.— Chelidonium majus. 



