Celandine (Chelidonium majus)
Description
Chelidonium majus, (commonly known as greater celandine, nipplewort, swallowwort, or tetterwort, which also refers to Sanguinaria canadensis) is a herbaceous perennial plant, one of two species in the genus Chelidonium. It is native to Europe and western Asia and introduced widely in North America. While the greater celandine belongs to the poppy family, the lesser celandine belongs to the buttercup family. Greater celandine is a perennial herb with an erect habit, and reaches 30–120 cm (12–47 in) high. The blue-grey leaves are pinnate (feather-like) with lobed and wavy margins, up to 30 cm (12 in) long. When injured, the plant exudes a yellow to orange latex, or sap. The flowers consist of four yellow petals, each about 18 mm (0.71 in) long, with two sepals. A double-flowered variety occurs naturally. The flowers appear from late spring to summer, May to September (in UK), in umbelliform cymes of about 4 flowers. The seeds are small and black, borne in a long, cylindrical capsule. Each has an elaiosome, which attracts ants to disperse the seeds (myrmecochory).
Taxonomic tree
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Domain: Eukarya
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Kingdom: Plantae
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Phylum: Magnoliophyta
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Class: Magnoliopsida
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Order: Ranunculales
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Family: Papaveraceae
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Genus: Chelidonium
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