GENUS 24. 



CROWFOOT FAMILY. 



121 



9. Thalictrum polygamum Muhl. Fall Meadow-Rue. Fig. 1940. 



Thalictrum polygamum Muhl. Cat. 54. 1813. 

 Thalictrum Cornuti T. & G. Fl. N. A. I : 38. 

 Not L. 1753. 



1838. 



Stout, 3-ii high, branching, leafy, smooth or 

 pubescent but not glandular nor waxy. Leaves 

 3~4-ternate; leaflets moderately thick, light green 

 above and paler beneath, oblong, obovate or or- 

 bicular, with 3 main apical pointed or obtuse 

 lobes ; panicle compound, leafy, a foot long or 

 more; flowers polygamous, white or purplish; 

 filaments broadened, narrowly clavate; anthers 

 oblong, short ; achenes ovoid, short-stipitate, 6-8- 

 winged, glabrous or pubescent. 



Newfoundland to Florida, Ontario and Ohio. Its 

 favorite habitat is in open sunny swamps. Ascends 

 to 2500 ft. in Virginia. Silver-weed. Rattlesnake- 

 bite. Musket- or musquash-weed. Celandine. 



Several additional species of Thalictrum from 

 within our range have been described by Professor 

 Greene, at least some of which are referable to T. 

 polygamum as races. 



25. ADONIS [Dill.] L. Sp. PI. 547. 1753. 



Erect, annual or perennial herbs. Leaves alternate, pinnately dissected into numerous 

 linear segments. Flowers yellow or red, solitary, terminal. Petals 5-16, conspicuous. Car- 

 pels oo, i-ovuled. Achenes capitate or spicate, rugose-reticulated, tipped with the persistent 

 styles. [Mythological name for a favorite of Venus, changed into a flower.] 



A genus of showy-flowered plants, natives of 

 the north temperate regions of Europe and Asia, 

 consisting of the following and about five other 

 species. Type species : Adonis annua L. 



i. Adonis annua L. Pheasant's or 

 Bird's Eye. Fig. 1941. 



Adonis annua L. Sp. PI. 547. 1753. 



Adonis autumnalis L. Sp. PI. Ed. 2, 771. 1763. 



Annual, erect, i-2 high, branched, gla- 

 brous. Leaves finally dissected, the lower 

 petioled, the upper sessile, the segments acute ; 

 sepals smooth, deciduous ; flowers p"-i8" 

 broad, nearly globular, orange or red, the 

 petals obovate, and darker colored at the base ; 

 achenes spicate. 



Commonly cultivated for ornament ; sponta- 

 neous in gardens and occasionally escaped into 

 waste places, especially southward. Fugitive 

 from Europe. Summer. Adonis'-flower. Red- 

 morocco. Camomile. 



26. CLEMATIS L. Sp. PI. 543. 1753. 



Climbing vines, more or less woody. Leaves opposite, slender-petioled, pinnately com- 

 pound. Flowers cymose-paniculate, our species dioecious, or nearly so. Sepals 4 or 5, 

 valvate in the bud, spreading, petaloid. Petals none. Stamens numerous, spreading; fila- 

 ments mostly glabrous; anthers short, blunt. Pistils numerous. Achenes i-seeded. Style 

 long, persistent, plumose. [Greek name for some climbing plant.] 



About 25 species of very wide geographic distribution. Besides the following, several others 

 occur in the southern and western parts of North America. Type species : Clematis vitalba L. 



Leaves 3-foliolate ; eastern. i. C. virginiana. 



Leaves pinnately s-7-foliolate ; western. 2. C. ligusticifolia. 



