No images found for this plant ID: 9818.
Ensure images are uploaded to the Media Library and tagged with "9818" in the "plant_image_tag" taxonomy.
celandine
Scientific Name: Chelidonium
Family: Papaveraceae
Category: Dicot
Growth:
Duration:
Other Names:
Celandine: A Trio of Flowers
The name "celandine" commonly refers to three different flowering plant species.
- Greater Celandine: Chelidonium majus
- Lesser Celandine: Ficaria verna (formerly Ranunculus ficaria L.)
Considerations for Pets
- Chelidonium majus, greater celandine, has a bitter taste.
- Ficaria verna, lesser celandine, produces tubers. The whole herb is collected and dried in March and April, and the tubers in May and June.
Taxonomy and Nomenclature
- Greater Celandine (Chelidonium majus): Belongs to the poppy family (Papaveraceae) and is the only species in its genus.
- Lesser Celandine (Ficaria verna): Belongs to the buttercup family (Ranunculaceae).
Common Names
- Greater Celandine (Chelidonium majus): Also known as tetterwort, nipplewort, or swallowwort.
- Lesser Celandine (Ficaria verna): Also known as Pilewort, Smallwort, Brighteye, and Cheesecups. In Welsh, it's known as Llygad Ebrill ("April's Eye").
Distribution and Habitat
- Lesser Celandine: Native perennial common throughout the UK in damp meadows, woods, lawns, hedgebanks, and beside streams and ditches. It thrives in woodlands, hedgerows, graveyards, and parks. It is also native to Britain.
Morphological Characteristics and Growth Habits
- Lesser Celandine: A low-growing, hairless perennial flowering plant. Its flowers are butter-yellow, with an inner row of short, narrow, ragged yellow strap-shaped anthers surrounding a central spherical fruit capsule.
Traditional and Historical Information
- Greater Celandine Extract: Has a history of use.
- Ancient writers noted the celandine flower appeared with swallows and withered when they left.
- Lesser Celandine: The leaves of the lesser celandine can be used in salads or sandwiches.
Quirky Facts
- Wordsworth favored the Lesser Celandine and wrote three poems about it.
Ecological Role
- Lesser Celandine: Is one of the earliest spring greens to emerge.
- The Lesser Celandine is one of the earliest spring flowers
Further Information
- Nature's Calendar provides information, a free fact sheet, and a live map of lesser celandine first flowering.
- WebMD provides patient medical information for greater celandine.
- Garden Organic