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BOTANICAL NOTICE FOR MAY. 



{Omitted in our last for" want of space.) 



The most conspicuous objects which present themselves to the eye 

 of the Botanist during this month, " the merry month of May," are 

 the butter-cup and daisy. These will be the subjects of a few re- 

 marks, a's they are the representatives of two very numerous classes of 

 plants, the ranunculacce and composite. 



There are no less than seventeen different species of the ranun- 

 culus or crowfoot growing in the meadows and ditches in the neigh- 

 bourhood of Hull ; that which is the most conspicuous in our fields 

 is the ranunculus bulbosus, but nearly two hundred species are now 

 known as growing in various parts of the globe. 



The ranunculus belongs to the Linnean class and order, poly andria 

 polygynia, that is having many stamens and many pistils, the 

 stamens arising from the receptacle. 



The ranunculacse are characterised by having three, four, or five 

 leaves to both calyx and flower, the stamens are numerous, the anther 

 valves straight, carpels (that is the seed vessels) more or less distinct. 

 But to speak now particularly of the construction of the buttercup of 

 our meadows. Beneath the yellow petals there may be seen five 

 small greenish-yellow leaflets ; these are the sepals of the calyx , 

 they fall ofif soon after the flower opens ; within these are five other 

 organs of a bright yellow colour on both sides ; they stand up and 

 fojm a little cup, in the bottom of which the other parts of the flower 

 are curiously arranged ; these are the petals of the corolla. At the 

 base of each will be seen a little scale fi om which honey exudes; this 

 was called by Linnajus, a nectary. Within the corolla are found a 

 large number of stamens with short filaments, which are all separately 

 implanted on the receptacle. Almost buried within the stamens 

 and occupying the centre of the flower, are a tiumber of little green 

 grains; these are too small to be seen readily without a magnifying 

 glass ; each of these is a single carpel, they each bear a horn-like 



