The Humble Celandine

Here it is, sitting in probably the only bit of sun this weekend - in fact the sun has already disappeared as I write this! I think it is a beautiful little flower and it reminds me of my childhood along with bluebells, woods and wild garlic.

Very pretty on > large <.

Lesser Celandine (Ranunculus ficaria) is actually classed (by some) as a weed - it is a member of the buttercup family and its name (Celandine) derives from the Latin word (chelidonia) meaning "swallow" - it was said that the flowers bloomed when the swallows arrived and faded when the swallows left.

A less pleasant fact is that it also used to be known as "pilewort" as it was used to treat haemorrhoids!!

For a 'weed' it has had mentions by some famous wordsmiths - C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, D.H. Lawrence and (in 1802) William Wordsworth (see below).

To the Small Celandine

Pansies, Lilies, Kingcups, Daisies,
Let them live upon their praises;
Long as there's a sun that sets
Primroses will have their glory;
Long as there are Violets,
They will have a place in story:
There's a flower that shall be mine,
'Tis the little Celandine..........

..... there are 7 more verses but I will leave you to hunt them down for yourself if you want to read them.

Have a lovely weekend everyone.