428 FLORA. 



Mainly in swamps and low grounds, N. B. to Manitoba, Ga., Ky. and Kans., 

 April-July. 



28. Ranunculus hispidus Michx. HISPID BUTTERCUP. (I. F. f. 1620.) 

 Densely villous when young, sometimes merely appressed -pubescent or glabrate 

 when old; stems ascending or spreading, 2-6 dm. long. Leaves pinnately 3-5- 

 divided, the divisions sharply cleft or lobed, usually thin; flowers 12-35 mm. 

 broad; petals about twice as long as the spreading sepals; head of fruit globose- 

 oval or globose; achenes broadly oval, lenticular, narrowly margined. In dry 

 woods and thickets, Ont. to the N. W. Terr., Ga. and Ark. March-May. 



29. Ranunculus fascicularis Muhl. EARLY OR TUFTED BUTTERCUP. (I. F. 

 f. 1621.) Pubescent; plant generally low, 1.5-3 dm. high, tufted. Leaves petioled, 

 3-5-divided; divisions stalked (especially the terminal one), deeply lobed and cleft, 

 the lobes oblong or linear; petals obovate, much longer than the spreading sepals, 

 rounded, truncate or even emarginate; head of fruit globose, about 8 mm. in diam- 

 eter; achenes flat, slightly margined. Woods, Ont. and N. Eng. to N. Car., west 

 to Manitoba, Kans. and Tex. April-May. 



30. Ranunculus parvulus L. HAIRY BUTTERCUP. (I. F. f. 1622.) Erect, 

 hairy, 1-5-3-5 dm. high, branching. Basal and lower leaves broad-petioled, the 

 blade about 5 cm. broad and long, 3 -divided or cleft, the divisions broadly ovate, 

 cuneate, stalked, cleft and lobed, the upper sessile or nearly so, deeply cleft 

 into linear-oblong obtuse segments; flowers yellow, 10-15 mm - broad; petals 

 much exceeding the reflexed calyx; head of fruit oblong, 4-6 mm. thick; achenes 

 flat, strongly margined, short-beaked. In ballast grounds and waste places, N. B. 

 to Va. and Fla. Fugitive from Europe. Summer. 



31. Ranunculus parviflorus L. SMALL-FLOWERED CROWFOOT. (I. F. f. 

 1623.) Hairy, slender, diffuse, branching from the base, 15-25 cm. high. Basal 

 leaves long -petioled, the blade reniform or cordate-orbicular, 2.5 cm. broad or less, 

 3-cleft, the lobes broadly oval, obtuse, cut and toothed; upper leaves short-petioled 

 or nearly sessile, 3-5 -parted into linear-oblong lobes; flowers yellow, 2-4 mm. wide, 

 the petals not longer than the calyx; head of fruit globose, 4 mm. broad; achenes 

 flat, margined, densely papillose, 3 mm. long, tipped with a sharp beak of about 

 one-fourth their length. In waste places, Md. and eastern Va. to Fla., Ark. and 

 Tex., and in ballast grounds about the northern seaports. Nat. or fugitive from 

 Europe. Summer. 



32. Ranunculus muricatus L. SPINY-FRUITED CROWFOOT. (I. F. f. 1624.) 

 Glabrous or sparingly pubescent, branched from the base, 3-6 dm. high. Lower 

 and basal leaves on long broad petioles, the blade reniform or cordate-orbicular. 3- 

 5 cm. wide, 3 -lobed, cleft, or crenate; the upper 3-divided, cuneate, short-petioled 

 or sessile; flowers light yellow, 6-10 mm. wide, the petals exceeding the calyx; 

 head of fruit globular, 10-12 mm. wide; achenes flat, 4 m. long, tipped with a stout 

 slightly curved beak. Waste places, eastern Va. and southward, naturalized or 

 fugitive from Europe. Also on the Pacific Coast. Native also in Asia and natu- 

 ralized in tropical America. Summer. 



33. Ranunculus arvensis L. CORN CROWFOOT. HUNGER- WEED. (I. F. f. 

 1625.) Erect, glabrous or sparingly pubescent, branched above, 3 dm. or more 

 high. Lower leaves petioled, the upper sessile, all deeply cleft or divided into 

 linear-oblong, obtuse cuneate, lobed or toothed segments or the lowest entire; 

 flowers 12-16 mm. broad, pale yellow, the petals exceeding the sepals; achenes 8- 

 16 mm., flattened, margined, 4 mm. long, tipped with a subulate beak. In waste 

 grounds, Tom's River and Passaic, N. J., and in ballast about the northern sea- 

 ports. Fugitive from Europe. Summer. 



23. BATRACHIUM S. F. Gray. 



Perennial aquatic or ditch herbs, with alternate dissected or palmately lobed 

 leaves, the segments of the submerged ones often filiform, and solitary rather small 

 white flowers, borne on peduncles opposite the leaves; sepals and petals usually 5. 

 Petals oblong or oval, the base sometimes yellowish, the claw bearing a small pit. 

 Stamens several or numerous. Achenes oblique, compressed, not margined, nearly 

 or quite beakless, transversely wrinkled. [Greek, referring to the aquatic habitat.] 

 About 20 species of very wide geographic distribution. Besides the following, 3 

 others occur in northwestern N. Am. 



