This is one of the first flowers you will see in springtime. It covers
the ground in patches in every wood, and you will find it too under the
hedges and on banks by the roadside.
The flower has eight long narrow petals, which are much narrower and
more pointed than those of the Buttercup.
When the Celandine is still in bud the outside of these petals is
beautifully streaked with purple. But when the flower opens in the
sunshine, the petals are a bright yellow colour, and are as glossy as if
they were wet.
In the centre of the flower there is a ring of yellow stamens with a
cluster of green seed-vessels amongst them.
Behind the coloured petals are three narrow pointed sepals. These
protect the flower when it is in bud.
The green leaves of the Celandine are dark and glossy, with wavy edges,
and each leaf has a stalk of its own.
If you look carefully at one of these leaves you will see that the stalk
is flattened at the foot. This helps it to clasp the main stem more
easily.
The root is divided into five or six hard little brown fingers. These
brown fingers are called tubers, and each tuber, if planted separately,
will produce a new plant.