Bai Qu Cai

Bai Qu Cai corresponds to Chelidonium majus, the greater celandine, a perennial herb of the poppy family Papaveraceae growing 30 to 80 centimetres tall. All parts of the plant exude a thick, bright orange-yellow latex when broken, which is a defining diagnostic character. Stems are erect, slender, and sparsely branched, bearing alternate, pinnately divided leaves whose lobes are themselves rounded and shallowly toothed, glaucous beneath. From late spring through summer the plant produces loose terminal umbels of four-petalled bright yellow flowers about 2 centimetres across, followed by slender, cylindrical capsules 3 to 5 centimetres long that split lengthwise to release shiny black seeds bearing white elaiosomes. The species is native to Europe and western Asia and is widely naturalised in China, North America, and elsewhere, favouring shaded, disturbed ground.