Lesser celandine is a welcome sight, provided one enjoys squinting at small yellow flowers. In a hailstorm, it folds itself up, retreating like a weary thing, as Wordsworth put it in The Lesser Celandine. Wordsworth is better known for his poem about daffodils, but he was apparently more enamoured with this unassuming plant, composing three whole poems about it. They are, in my opinion, heavy going, but some consider them masterpieces.
It is a peculiar flower—fragile yet resilient enough to bloom in miserable weather, delicate yet conspicuously bright. It carpets damp woodland in early spring, providing a vital food source for early pollinators such as this Drone Fly, which, given the scarcity of alternatives, is forced to make do. Wordsworth, for all his poetic efforts, overlooked its many evocative names. “Bright-Eye” is particularly charming, referring to its supposed ability to improve eyesight1“The English Dialect Dictionary, Being the Complete Vocabulary of All Dialect Words Still in Use, or Known to Have Been in Use during the Last Two Hundred Years; Founded on the Publications of the English Dialect Society and on a Large Amount of Material Never before Printed”. In six volumes edited by Joseph Wright, 1898. Volume I. Internet Archive, 2014, https://archive.org/details/englishdialectdi01wriguoft. Accessed 10 Apr. 2021.. He also failed to mention its pale, exposed tubers, which, in addition to smelling faintly of cabbage, inspired the name “Pilewort” due to their traditional use in treating a less romantic affliction. From vision to haemorrhoids, it covers the full range.
Wordsworth so adored this little flower that he wanted it carved on his tombstone. The sculptor, Thomas Woolner, apparently misinterpreted the request and placed the entirely unrelated Greater Celandine on the memorial in Grasmere church instead. When questioned, Woolner defended himself: “I had no intention of representing the Greater, that being a flower wholly unsuited to my purpose.” Regardless, the result bore a striking resemblance to it.
The name “Celandine” comes from the Greek khelidonion, meaning “swallow.” Both the bird and the flower herald spring, though not at the same time—Celandines vanish long before Swallows arrive. The confusion between Lesser and Greater Celandine may stem from folklore, which claimed that Swallows used the latter to restore sight to their blind chicks. The plant was also favoured in Greek and Chinese medicine for eye treatments. If one is tempted to test its effectiveness, it is wise to count the petals before applying it to one’s haemorrhoids.
- 1“The English Dialect Dictionary, Being the Complete Vocabulary of All Dialect Words Still in Use, or Known to Have Been in Use during the Last Two Hundred Years; Founded on the Publications of the English Dialect Society and on a Large Amount of Material Never before Printed”. In six volumes edited by Joseph Wright, 1898. Volume I. Internet Archive, 2014, https://archive.org/details/englishdialectdi01wriguoft. Accessed 10 Apr. 2021.
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