Stylophorum diphyllum (Michx.) Nutt.

Yellow wood poppy, celandine poppy

Sometimes these are confused

	You are here Stylophorum diphyllum	Ranunculus ficaria	Chelidonium majus
Common Name	yellow wood poppy	lesser celandine	greater celandine
Plant	Plants reach 1–1½′ (30–45 cm). Stems and leaves exude a bright yellow-orange sap when cut.	Low-growing, 4–14″ (10–35 cm) in height. It is a perennial that stores energy in numerous white finger-like tubers.	Greater celandine reaches 1½–2′ (45–60 cm) in height, with ribbed stems. Leaves contain an irritating yellow-orange sap.
Leaves	This plant has basal leaves, as well as a pair of opposite leaves on the stem, both up to 6″ (15 cm) × 4″ (10 cm). Leaves are divided into 3-5 lobes which in turn are further divided, making them bipinnatifid. Leaf surfaces are dark green and hairless, while leaf undersides are pale as a result of fine hairs. Leaf stems (petioles) are up to 4″ (10 cm) long.	Thick, heart-shaped (cordate), spirally arranged, ¾–1½″ (1.9–3.8 cm), on long stems (petioles). Leaves are sometimes mottled with darker green patches.	Up to 8″ (20 cm) long and 3″ (7.6 cm) wide, compound in groups of 5 to 9, green with a slight bluish tint.
Flowers	Each flower has four partially overlapping yellow petals, two sepals (which fall away early after flowering), a knobby stigma, and multiple yellow-orange stamens. They appear in groups of one to four, and are 1¼–2″ (3.2–5.7 cm) around. Flowers May-June.	Up to 1″ (2.5 cm) around, with 7-12 glossy yellow petal-like tepals, and 3 sepal-like tepals (confused yet?). They appear as early as February, or, further north, from April-May.	About ¾″ (1.9 cm) around, with four yellow non-overlapping petals, a stiff green central style, and multiple yellow stamens.
Fruit	Bristly blue-green ovoid seed pods ¾–1″ (1.9–2.5 cm).	Achenes are spherical, up to ⅜″ (1.3 cm) around.	Seed capsules look like thin beans, ¾–2½″ (1.9–6.3 cm) long, with black seeds.
Range/ Zones	USDA Zones: 4-9		USDA Zones: 4-8
Habitats	Dry deciduous woodlands, bases of bluffs, and rocky stream banks.	It prefers damp shady areas, and weedy places. It often carpets large areas.	Moist or dry woods, thickets, fields, hedgerows, roadsides, railroads

Stylophorum diphyllum description by Thomas H. Kent, not updated.

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