Description

A medium tall, bushy perennial with greyish pinnate leaves with lobed leaflets. The flowers, which are present from April through to early October, consist of four well separated deep yellow petals. These are followed by a long seed capsule containing a row of shiny black seeds.

Habitat Information

Greater celandine has been with us since at least Roman times and is now widely established on road verges, old walls, waste ground and hedge bottoms. Most sites where it is found are subject to occasional disturbance where regeneration can occur through dormant seed in the soil.

Growing Information

Grows readily from seed on most soils. Seed requires a period of chilling to break dormancy so sowing should be carried out in late summer or autumn. If the sown site is left undisturbed for too many years Greater celandine is likely to be replaced by more robust perennials. Should this occur disturbing the soil in autumn will allow dormant seed to germinate and a new generation of plants to colonize the area. We do not normally hold large stocks of this species so it is not present in any of our mixtures; however it could be added to EM1, EM10 or EH1.