148 I. RANUNCULACE^. Hydrastis. 



barren flo-vrers -vrith numerous slender filaments and yellow anthers, the fertile 

 ones smaller, with shorter stamens. Fruit oval, striate. May. 



2. T. CoRNUTi. (T. CorjTiellum. DC.) Meadow Rue. 



Lfts. obtusely 3-lobed, paler underneath ; Jls. (^ ^; filaments clavate ; fr. 

 sessile, striate. — A "handsome herbaceous plant, common in meadows. Stem 



3 if high, smooth, hollow, jointed, furrowed. Leaves resembling those of the 



columbine (Aquilegia), green above, .smooth, .several times compounded. 

 Leaflets 1—2' long, § as wide. Petioles sheathing at base. Panicles large 

 and difiuse. The barren flowers have numerous club-shaped stamens, with 

 oblong yellow anthers. Fertile flowers smaller and less crowded. Jn. Jl. 



3. T. AXEMONoiDES. Michx. (Anemone thalictroides. Linn.') Rue Ane- 

 mone. , 



Floral Irs. petiolate, simple, whorled, resembling an mvolucrum ; radical 

 Iv.'! biternate ; fls. umbeled.— Woods and pastures, Northern, Middle, and West- 

 ern States. The root of this little herbaceous, plant consists of several oblong 

 tubercles. Stem erect, 6—8' high, slender, bearing several white flowers at top 

 in a sort of umbel. Leaves i— 1' long, § as wide, cordate at base, 3-lobed, on 

 petioles f— li' long; radical common petioles 2 — 4' long. Apr. May. 



18. MYOStJRUS. Dill. 



Gr. jivi. fivos, mouse, ovpa, tail ; alluding to the long spike of carpels. 



Sepals 5, produced downwards at base below their insertion; 

 petals 5, with slender, tubular claws ; stamens 5 — 20 ; achenia very 

 closely spicate on the elongated torus. — ® Lvs. linear, entire, radical 

 Scapes l-Jiowered. 



M. MINIMUS. (M. Shortii. Raf.) Movsc-tail. 



Prairies and bottoms. 111., Mead ! to La. and Oreg., Nuttall. A diininutive 

 plant remarkable for its little terete spikelet of fruit, which is often an inch 

 long.' Leaves 1—3' long, 1—2" wide. Scape a little taller, with a single 

 minute pale-yellow flower at top. Apr. 



19. ZANTHORHIZA. 



Gr. ^av^oi, yellow, f>i^a, root. 



Sepals 5 ; petals 5, of 2 roundish lobes, raised on a pedicel ; sta- 

 uiens 5 — 10; ovaries 5 — 10, beaked with the styles, 2— 3-ovuled ; 

 follicles mostly 1 -seeded, seed suspended. — Suffruticose ; st. and bark 

 yellow and hitter. Lvs. finnately divided. Rac. axillary, compaund, 

 Fls. small, dark purple, often 9 ^ <^- 



Z APiiFOLiA. L'Her. (Z. simplicissima. Mickr.) 

 River banks, Penn. to Ga. Root thick. Stem short, woody, leafy above. 

 Leaves glabrous, about 8' long, including the long petioles. Leaflets 5, 2—3' 

 long se4ile inciselv lobed and dentate. Racemes many-flowered, appearing 

 with the leaves. Follicles spreading, U" long. March, April. 



20. HYDRASTIS. 



Gr. vScop, water; the plant grows in watery places. 



Sepals 3, ovate, petaloid, equal ; corolla ; stamens 00, a little 

 shorter than the sepals ; baccate fruit composed of numerous, aggre- 

 gate, 1 -seeded acines. — %with 2 lvs. and \ flower. 



H. Canadensis. Turmeric-root. 



The only species. It grows in bog meadows, Can. to Car. and Ky. ! Rare. 

 Root of a deep vellow color internally. Stem 6—9' high, becoming purplish, 

 hairy above. Leaves 2 onlv, alternate, on the upper part of the stem, petiolate, 

 emar'^inate at base, palmate, with 3—5 lobes. Peduncle terminal, solitary, 

 1-flowered. Sepals reddish white, of short duration. Fruit red, juicy, resem- 

 bling the raspberry. Seeds nearly black. May, Jn. 



