Outside of the flowering period, celandine ekes out a comparatively inconspicuous existence in cracks in walls and at the edges of forests. This persistent summer bloomer is also a suitable flowering plant for targeted cultivation in the garden.

Due to certain healing effects, celandine is also called wart herb

The characteristics of celandine:

  • Botanical name: Chelidonium majus
  • Common names: goldenroot, lady's herb, devil's milkweed, wartwort
  • Growth form: Perennial plant with herbaceous growth, pronounced taproot
  • Sowing time: March to April
  • Flowering period: late April to early October
  • Locations: prefers slightly moist soil, sunny to semi-shady
  • Growth height: 40 to 60 cm
  • Fruit: pod-like seed pods
  • Flower shape: radial, yellow
  • Leaves: stalked, alternate and hairy on the underside
  • Use: Natural remedy for external use on warts
  • Toxic effect when consumed

The care of celandine in the garden

In nature, celandine is often found in the following locations:

  • on walls
  • in sparse forests
  • on water banks
  • stony wasteland

Even in the garden, the maintenance effort is very low if the celandine is planted in a location with sufficient soil moisture. In addition, the soil at the selected location should have the highest possible nitrogen content. Special fertilization or other care measures are not required for celandine in the garden.

Celandine as a natural medicine

Greater celandine gets its name from the striking yellow sap in the stems of the plant, which is traditionally used to treat warts. In the past, the plant was also used to treat various gastrointestinal diseases. The active ingredients in the plant parts are said to have a laxative, antispasmodic, anti-inflammatory, antihypertensive, antiviral and antibacterial effect. However, treatment with internal use of celandine should only be carried out after consulting a doctor, since ingestion can also lead to symptoms of poisoning of varying severity. These manifest themselves as pain, burning, vomiting, circulatory disorders and bloody diarrhea. Toxic liver damage is said to be caused by the celandine, and in extreme cases death from circulatory failure occurs.

tips

The celandine is one of the perennial plants in the garden that simply multiplies by itself in a suitable location. The gardener of a near-natural garden benefits from the fact that the pod-like seed capsules of the celandine are distributed in the garden by ants and are thus constantly resown.

Category:

Herbs