CELANDINE

celandine, _chelidonium majus_, a member of the poppy family, an erect branched herb from 1 to 2 ft. high with a yellow juice, much divided leaves, and yellow flowers nearly an inch across, succeeded by a narrow thin pod opening by a pair of thin valves, separating upwards. the plant grows in waste places and hedgerows, and is probably an escape from cultivation. the lesser celandine is a species of _ranunculus_ (_r. ficaria_), a small low-growing herb with smooth heart-shaped leaves and bright yellow flowers about an inch across, borne each on a stout stalk springing from a leaf-axil. it flowers in early spring, in pastures and waste-places.