Celandine, or wood poppy (
Stylophorum diphyllum) is a native wildflower with beautiful yellow blossoms. There is another plant, Greater celandine (
Chelidonium majus), which has similar flowers and leaves but is an invasive non-native. They both exude a yellow sap when you break a stem. I believe my description is correct for telling them apart; it's not that hard, but there seems to be widespread confusion. First,
Stylophorum diphyllum. Note the vertical budding flower/seed pod and the fairly large leaves.
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| 4/29/14 |
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| 4/29/14 |
Now the
Chelidonium majus. The leaves are smaller (the difference is greater later in the year), and they radiate from the center, where the stems are fuzzy. There is no pod yet; when it appears it is long and thin, and hangs downward. This supposedly has medicinal properties, but nevertheless I am trying to get rid of it. Easy to pull up when the soil is damp.
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| 4/29/14 |
Note that there is another plant with a confusingly similar name, Lesser celandine (
Ranunculus ficaria). I haven't encountered this, but it doesn't look very much like the other two. It is also an invasive non-native.
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