Chelidonium majus

Greater Celandine, in Latin Chelidonium majus, also known as tetterwort, wartwort or wart weed, is not a plant that can be found in garden centres, but rather a "weed" that thrives in uncultivated and shady areas, preferably in nitrogen-rich and very alkaline soils. This wild species, very hardy and robust, and which self-seeds freely, forms a clump of deeply cut and lobed leaves of beautiful bluish-green colour and bears umbels of small yellow flowers in spring and summer. It has been considered for centuries as a witch's plant, associated with black magic, and known for its medicinal properties : the malodorous, orange-yellow latex contained in its stems and leaves was used to remove warts. 

Chelidonium majus has many vernacular names depending on the region, which are allusions to its appearance or alleged virtues: Greater Celandine, large celandine, devil's herb, witch's milk or demon's milk, goat's herb, swallow's herb, Saint-Clair's herb...It is a perennial herbaceous plant of the Papaveraceae family with a thick underground rhizome. It is common on the Eurasian continent. It is a very hardy plant that grows in limestone and nitrogen-rich soils, from moist to very dry in summer. 

Celandine starts growing in spring and its above-ground part disappears in winter, except in mild climates where it persists all year round. Depending on the environmental conditions, wart weed forms a clump of basal rosette leaves from which flowering stems emerge from spring to summer and even autumn depending on the climate, reaching a height of 60 to 90 cm (24 to 35in). The small flowers are arranged in a loose cluster called an umbelliform cyme. They have 4 bright yellow petals and measure about 2 cm (1in) in diameter. The stems are hollow, cylindrical, brittle, and slightly hairy. They bear leaves divided into 5 to 7 ovate segments, strongly incised and lobed, crenate or dentate at the edges. They are soft and slightly glaucous. When broken, the stems and leaves release a yellow-orange sap containing latex, which has a very distinctive, somewhat unpleasant odour. After pollination by insects, the flowers give way to small pods that open when dry to release small black seeds. Ants then scatter them all over the garden. The sap of celandine is toxic, containing about thirty alkaloids that are responsible for its wart-removing action. This latex also destroys calluses and corns on the feet after several applications. Caution: the use of plants should always be done under medical supervision. 

Once established in the garden celandine naturalises very easily, since ants take care of "sowing" it everywhere. It is a pretty "weed" that is extremely accommodating and very easy to grow. Use it to fill in the wilder areas of the garden, along with periwinkles, violets, money plants, ornamental strawberries (Pink Panda, Waldsteinia ternata), or forget-me-nots.