( 51 .) 
CHELIDO'NIUM* *. 
Linnean Class and Order. Polya ndria, Monogy'nia. 
Natural Order. Papavera'ce/e. Juss. — Lindl. Syn. p. 16; 
Introd. to Nat. Syst. p. 8. — Rich, by Macgilliv. p. 497. 
Gen. Char. Calyx (fig. 1.) inferior, of 2 roundish, egg-shaped, 
concave, pointed, smooth, deciduous sepals (leaves). Corolla of 4 
equal, roundish, flat, spreading petals, which are narrowest at the 
base. Filaments (fig. 2.) about 30, flat, broadest upwards, shorter 
than the corolla. Anthers oblong, vertical, compressed, upright, 
2-lobed. Germen (fig. 4.) superior, cylindrical, as long as the 
stamens. Style none. Stigma small, blunt, cloven. Pod (fig. 5.) 
linear, somewhat cylindrical, of 1 cell, and 2 undulated, deciduous 
valves, (fig. 7). Seeds (figs. 8 & 9.) numerous, oval, dotted, po- 
lished, with a pale, compressed, notched crest (fig. 9.) along the 
upper edge ; arranged in 2 rows, on short stalks, along a linear, 
permanent, marginal receptacle ( placenta J, (fig. 6.) at each side 
between the edges of the valves. 
Distinguished from other genera of the same class and order, by 
the 2-leaved calyx, the 4-petalled corolla, 1-celled pod, and crested 
seeds. 
One species British, according to Sir J. E. Smith; two according to 
Dr. Lindley. 
CHELIDO'NIUM MA'JUS. Common Celandine. 
Spec. Char. Peduncles (flower-stalks) umbellate. Leaves pin- 
natifid (wing-cleft), with rounded segments, the lobes of which are 
toothed. Petals elliptical, entire. De Candolle. 
Engl. Bot. t. 1581. — Woodv. Med. Bot. Suppl. t. 263. — Huds. El. Angl. 
(2nded.) p.228. — Sm. FI. Brit. v. ii. p.563. Engl. FI. v. iii. p. 4. — With. 
(7th ed.) v. iii. p.643. — Lindl. Syn. p. 18. — Hook. Brit. FI. p.257. — Gray’s 
Mat. Arr. v. ii. p. 702. — Lightf. FI. Scot. v. i. p. 278. — Sibth. FI. Oxon. p. 164. — 
Abbot’s FI. Bedf. p. 115. — Purt. Midi. FI. v. i. p.252. — Relh. FI. Cant. (3rd 
edit.) p. 211. — Hook. F). Scot. p. 167. — Grev. FI. Edin. p. 119. — Rev. G. E. 
Smith’s Plants of South Kent, p. 29. — -Johnson’s FI. of Berwick, v. i. p. 119. — 
FI. Devon, pp. 89 & 192. — Walk. FI. of Oxf. p. 147. — Mack. Catal of PI. of 
Ireland, p. 51. — Johnson’s Gerarde, p. 1069. — Papaver corniculatum Inteum, 
Chelidonia dictum, Ray’s Syn. p. 309. 
Loca i.ities. — In hedges, rough shady places, on rubbish, old walls, and un- 
cultivated ground. 
Perennial. — Flowers in May, June, and July. 
Root somewhat spindle-shaped. Stem from 1 to 2 feet high, 
branched, swollen at the joints, leafy, round, smooth, or slightly 
hairy. Leaves alternate, smooth, very deeply pinnatifid (wing-cleft). 
Fig. 1. Calyx. — Fig. 2. Stamens. — Fig. 3. A separate Stamen, a little mag- 
nified. — Fig. 4. Germen. — Fig. 5. Pod. — Fig. 6. The same with two valves 
removed, showing the Seeds attached to the marginal placenta. — Fig. 7. One of 
the Valves. — Fig. 8. A Seed. — F'ig. 9. The same magnified, showing the Crest. 
* From ckelidon, Gr. a swallow ; probably from the plant flowering at the 
time of the arrival of those birds. Dr. Hooker. 
t The 13th class in the Linnean Artificial System, containing all those plants 
which have perfect flowers, with more than 20 distinct stamens in each, 
inserted into the receptacle, below the pistil, (hypoyynous). 
