Celandine seed Chelidonium majus
LATIN NAME: Chelidonium majus
COMMON NAME: Greater Celandine
The greater celandine is the small, yellow cross of the old wall, and the four-petalled flowers open above the grey-green leaves. The upright, brittle, short-lived perennial herb carries the deeply lobed, grey-green leaves and the small, bright-yellow, four-petalled flowers in the loose clusters through the spring and the summer, one of the fine, bright sights of the old wall, to be followed by the narrow, upright pods. The plant bleeds the fine, orange-yellow sap from the broken stems, and the whole plant is for the eyes only, not for eating. It is a plant of the open, sunny to partly shaded, well-drained ground.
Scientific Research & Plant Biotechnology
The greater celandine is a curious subject of the plant science, and the orange-yellow sap keeps showing up in the work on the poppy-family herbs. The chemistry of the sap, which carries the alkaloids of the old records, has been studied at length, and it keeps appearing in the studies of the poppy-family herbs, the sap-bearing plants and the members of the poppy family. The deeply lobed leaves and the brittle habit have also made it a fine study plant, and the greater celandine is a regular subject of the work on the yellow crosses of the old world.
Ecological & Economic Value & Wide Applications
The greater celandine is a fine, bright plant of the old wall and the wild patch. The small, bright-yellow, four-petalled flowers open through the spring and the summer, one of the fine, bright sights of the old wall, and the plant bleeds the fine, orange-yellow sap from the broken stems, a fine, curious sight of the plant world, grown for the yellow crosses rather than for the table. The plant is one of the fine choices for the wild patch, the old wall and the study collection, best kept out of the reach of the small hands, and it has been written up in the botanical papers for the orange sap and the bright ways. It is a fine, bright plant of the open, sunny to partly shaded, well-drained garden.
Give the young plants the open, sunny spot, and they will settle into the old wall.
To grow the greater celandine from seed, sow the small, black seeds a centimetre down in a pot of fine, gritty soil, keep the pot in a bright, open spot and water gently, then set the young plants out in the open ground. The seedlings push through within a couple of weeks and grow on fast. With the sun or the light shade and the well-drained ground, the yellow crosses will open through the spring.
Uses: Medicinal
Latex juice mixed with vinegar is said to remove warts and corns. Decoction is useful for stomach pains and inflammation of the bilary duct. New research indicates it has potent anticancer properties.