Updated 5 January 2024
Common names
- Celidonia, Great Celidonia, Warty Herb, Goat's Herb, Swallow's Herb, Saint-Clair Herb, Great Lightning, Witch's Milk, Demon's Milk, Devil's grass, Felucca
Common origins
- Europe, Asia, North America, North Africa
Botanical classification
- Kingdom: Plantae
- Division: Magnoliophyta
- Class: Magnoliopsida
- Order: Papaverales
- Family: Papaveraceae
- Genus: Chelidonium
Components
- Isoquinoline alkaloids: chelidonine, chelerythrine, sanguinarine, berberine and coptisine, protopines
- Other alkaloids: sparteine
- Phenolic acids: malic acid, citric acid, chelidonic acid, caffeic acid
- Flavonoids
- Carotenoids
- Lipids
- Latex contains proteolytic enzymes
Parts used
- Leaves, rhizome, latex (fresh, pre-flowering, external)
Organoleptic properties
- Odour: unpleasant, waxy
- Taste: bitter, pungent, penetrating
Properties
Internal use
- Antispasmodic for the bile ducts and digestive system
- Mild analgesic for the bile ducts (right hypochondrium pain)
- Cholagogue
- Carminative
- Sedative
- Hypotensive
External use (latex)
- Verrucid, caustic
- Proteolytic
- Antiviral, Antibacterial
Indications
Internal use
- Icterus
- Cholecystitis
- Pain, cramps, biliary and hepatic spasms
- Liver congestion
- Hepato-biliary congestion
- Regulation of excessive peristaltic motility of the gastrointestinal system
- Spasms of intestinal smooth muscle
- Constipation
- Glandular congestion of the lymphatic system
- Hepatic migraine
- Bronchial spasms
- Asthma
- High blood pressure
- Haemorrhoids
- Nervous anxiety
- Insomnia
External use
- Warts
- Condylomata
- Corns, calluses
- Other pathological growths
- Ulcers, scabs
- Chronic ophthalmia
Caution! Use quality tablets or capsules certified by the health authorities.
Do not use the fresh plant internally (orally): poisonous plant!
Precautions / Contraindications
- Caution! In case of absorption of the fresh Greater Celandine plant, side effects such as depression of the nervous system or intoxication may occur, therefore the fresh plant should never be ingested: toxic!
- Do not use for long periods or alone. The whole plant is cytotoxic (presence of alkaloids) and in high doses may cause drowsiness, bradycardia and paralysis of sensory nerve endings.
- Do not use on pregnant women or children (except topically).
How to use / Current dose
Internal use
- As an infusion or decoction of dried leaves: 15 to 30 g of dried plant in 1 litre of water. Drink 2 to 3 cups a day.
- As decoction of dried roots: 10 to 15 g/L of water.
- Tincture: dried aerial parts (15 to 30 drops 3 times a day), fresh aerial parts (10 to 25 drops), short-term use.
- Dried root powder: 2 to 4 g per day.
- Standardised dry extract tablets: for digestive and biliary spasms and epigastric pain.
- As a diuretic and laxative wine: 15 to 20 g of root infused in 1 litre of white wine. Drink a glass every morning.
External use
- Fresh latex applied locally to warts and corns: 3 times a day.
- Diluted decoction of leaves or very diluted fresh juice (5%): chronic ophthalmia, inflammation and ulceration of the eyelids, blepharitis, etc.
- Fresh juice or crushed fresh root: ulcers, scabs.
To find out more
In homeopathy Chelidonium majus may be used for serious liver disorders.
Additional information
Habitat and botanical description
It is a tufted perennial that grows on a thick, brownish-red underground rhizome that can reach 90 cm in height. The erect, branched stem is up to 50 cm high. It is hollow, cylindrical, brittle and hairy. The lower leaves, arranged in a rosette, are stalked, while the upper stem leaves are sessile, alternate, pinnate (5-7 segments), oval, lobed and crenate (sometimes toothed). When the leaves and stems are broken, an abundant corrosive yellow-orange latex flows out, the colour being due to a pigment (chelidoxanthin) which oxidises in the air. The flowers are yellow and dialypetal, with 4 crossed petals, 2 deciduous yellowish sepals and numerous stamens. The fruits are narrow, hairless, bumpy siliques.
It grows on rocky outcrops, rubble heaps, roadsides and old walls, in cool places up to 1,500m. It can sometimes be found fresh in winter.
Harvest time
The dried buds are harvested at the beginning of flowering. Fresh latex is harvested before flowering.
Mythology / History / Anecdotes and traditional virtues
In Latin 'chelidonium' means 'swallow', so the plant owes its name to the fact that its flowering coincides with the arrival of the swallows. According to Pliny, the plant owes its name to the fact that swallows rub fragments of the plant into the eyes of their young to help them open. Celidonia has often been considered a magical plant, sometimes associated with black magic. For medieval alchemists, its yellow sap could be the means of transforming base metals into gold, hence its nickname 'Gift from Heaven'. The name "éclaire" refers to the bright yellow flowers that "light up the coming of spring", evoking small plant suns that seem to be a source of light, hence the use of the plant as an antiophthalmic (it was even said to restore sight to the blind) according to the theory of signatures. According to the same theory, it was also used to treat jaundice and gallstones.