COMMON NAME

Celandine

FULL SCIENTIFIC NAME

Chelidonium majus L.

FAMILY NAME COMMON

Poppy family

FAMILY SCIENTIFIC NAME

Chelidonium majus

IMAGES

Basal rosette	Broken stem with orange sap	Flowers
Habit	Incursion	Fruit

NOMENCLATURE/SYNONYMS

Synonyms: None

DESCRIPTION

Botanical Glossary

Chelidonium majus is a brittle, herbaceous biennial that reaches 30-80 cm (11-31 in.) in height. Its stems are ribbed and branching. The lower parts of the branches are pubescent. When the branches or leaves are broken a yellowish-orange sap can be seen. The alternate cauline leaves can be up to 35 cm (13 in.) in length, with petioles measuring 2-10 cm (0.75-4 in.) long. The thin leaf blades are glaucous beneath, deeply 5-9 lobed and are irregularly dentate around the margins. The veins of the lower leaf surfaces have fine, short hairs. The bright yellow flowers of Chelidonium majus are contained in axillary pedunculate umbels. The peduncle itself measures 2-10 cm (0.75-4in.) long. Each flower has four obovate to oblong petals that measure about 1 cm (0.4in.) wide. This plant usually flowers from May to June. The "lumpy" capsules are linear to oblong-shaped and measure 2-5 cm (0.75-2 in.) in length. Within the capsule are black seeds with reticulate pitting on their surface. Page References Bailey 428, Fernald 680, Flora of North America 302, Gleason and Cronquist 67, Holmgren 64, Magee & Ahles 526, Newcomb 142, Peterson & McKenny 130. See reference section below for full citations.

SIMILAR SPECIES

Glaucium flavum Crantz. (Yellow hornpoppy) IPANE Catalog of Species Writeup
Stylophorum diphyllum (Michx.) Nutt (Celandine poppy)* Picture of S. diphyllum
Cardamine impatiens L. (Bushy rock-cress)** *Stylophorum diphyllum is non-native to New England (it is native futher south), but is often cultivated.
**The basal rosettes of Cardamine impatiens could be confused for Chelidonium majus. The leaves of Chelidonium majus are pubescent, while those of Cardamine impatiens are glabrous.

REPRODUCTIVE/DISPERSAL MECHANISMS

The seeds of this plant are ant-dispersed. This movement is facilitated by an elaiosome on the seed which attracts the ants so that they move it.

DISTRIBUTION

Chelidonium majus is native to Eurasia from Spain to Turkey and Russia, north to Great Britain and Ireland and south to North Africa. In the United States it is located from Maine to Georgia and west to Minnesota, Iowa and Missouri. There are also reports of it in Washington, Montana and Utah. This plant has been reported from all the states of New England.

HISTORY OF INTRODUCTION IN NEW ENGLAND

Chelidonium majus was most likely introduced into New England as an herbal remedy for skin diseases. It was reported to be in New England herb gardens as early as 1672. From these gardens the plant became naturalized and spread across the landscape.

HABITATS IN NEW ENGLAND

Chelidonium majus is most often found in disturbed areas especially with moist soil. Conceivably its seeds could be moved to other habitats by ants.

THREATS

Chelidonium majus can become abundant in minimally managed situations, and can outcompete other native herbaceous plants.

MANAGEMENT LINKS

DOCUMENTATION NEEDS

Documentation required: Habit shot with fruits or flowers
Best time for documentation: Spring, summer

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Integrated Taxonomic Information System
Taxonomic information about the species

PLANTS Database
General information and map

Flora of North America
Extensive description and distribution information

Wisconsin State Herbarium
Images

Image from a Sampler of Wayside Herbs
Image and description of historical herbal uses of the plant

Bailey, L. H. 1949. Manual of Cultivated Plants. Macmillan, New York.

Fernald, M.L.  1950.  Gray's Manual of Botany 8th edition.  American Book Company, New York.

Flora of North America Editorial Committee, eds. 1993+. Flora of North America North of Mexico. Volume #3. Oxford University Press 

Gleason, H. A. 1952. The New Britton and Brown Illustrated Flora of the Northeastern United States and Adjacent Canada. Macmillan Publishing Co., Inc. New York.

Gleason, H.A. and A.C. Cronquist.  1991.  Manual of Vascular Plants of the Northeastern United States and Adjacent Canada. 2nd ed.  New York Botanical Garden, Bronx, New York.

Holm, L.G., J.V. Pancho, J.P. Herberger and D.L. Plucknett. 1979. A Geographical Atlas of World Weeds. John Wiley and Sons, New York, USA.

Holmgren, N.H. 1998. Illustrated Companion to Gleason and Cronquist's Manual.  New York Botanical Garden, Bronx, New York.

Josselyn, John.  1672.  New England Rarities Discovered.  Meriden Gravure Company, Meriden, Connecitcut.

Magee, D.W and H.E. Ahles. 1999.  Flora of the Northeast. University of Massachusetts Press, Amherst.

Newcomb, N. 1977.  Newcomb's Wildflower Guide.  Little Brown, Boston.

Peterson, R.T. and M. McKenny. 1968. A field Guide to Wildflowers of Northeastern and North-central North America.  Houghton Mifflin, Boston.

USDA, NRCS.  2001.  The PLANTS Database, Version 3.1. (http://plants.usda.gov).  National Plant Data Center, Baton Rouge, LA 70874-4490 USA.