Chapter 51

Celandine.Chelidonium majus.

Found from May to August in waste grounds around dwellings, and along hedgerows.

The branching stalk grows from 2 to 3 feet in height; it has a saffron juice, and is covered with scattering, weak hairs; green.

The deeply divided leaf is cut into 5 or more oval irregular lobes which are not quite opposite in their occurrence, the terminal lobe being larger than the others; it is short-stemmed, with a rather weak fibre and smooth surface; the margin is notched in large rounded scallops and the color is yellow-green. The arrangement of the leaves is alternate.

The 4 oval petals of the flower are a lustreless orange-yellow color; the many stamens are yellow, and the pistil is green; the 2-parted calyx falls early.

This weak-fibred plant is of a somewhat sprawling growth; the leaf is more pleasing in shape than in color.


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