Ranunculus. I. RANUNCULACE^. 141 



From Italy. A fine garden species, with double and semi-double varieties of 

 red, white and blue flowers. May. f 



Observaiion.— Many other foreign species are ornamental, and perhaps rarely cultivated. They aU 

 prefer a fresh, loamy soil. 



3. HEPATlCA. Dill. 



Gr. t^irariKos, of the liver; from the fencied resemblance of the leaf. 



Involucre of 3 entire, ovate, obtuse bracts, resembling a calyx, 

 situated a little below the flower ; calyx of 5 — 9 petaloid sepals, dis- 

 posed in 2 or 3 rows ; corolla ; achenia awnless. 



H TRILOBA. Chaix. (Anemone Hepatica. Linn.^ Livcrieart. 



Jjvs. trilobate, the lobes entire; scape I-flowered, nairy. — Woods, Can. to 

 Car. This little plant is one of the earliest harbingers of spring, often putting 

 forth its neat and elegant flowers in the neighborhood of some lingering snow- 

 bank. The root consists of numerous and strong fibres. Leaves all radical, 

 ou long, hairy petioles, smooth, evergreen, coriaceous, divided into 3 lobes, 

 which .suggests all its names. Flowers on scapes 3 — 4' long, solitary, numer- 

 ous, generally blue, but frequently in varieties of white and flesh-color. In cul- 

 tivation they become double. In respect to the form of the leaves there are two 

 varieties : — 



a. obkisa, lobes obtuse, rounded. — Prefers the south side of hills. 

 3. acuta, lobes acute. — Prefers the north side of hills. 



4. ADONIS. 



Feigned to have sprung from the blood of Adonis, when wounded by the boar. 



Sepals 5, appressed ; petals 5 — 15, with naked claws ; achenia in 

 a spike, ovate and pointed with the hardened, persistent style. 



A. AUTL'MNALis. Pheasant's Ei/e. 



St. branching; Jls. 5 — 8-petaled ; carpels crowned with a very short style, 

 and collected into an ovate or subcylindric head ; pet. longer than the calyx. — A 

 fine, hardy annual, from Europe, naturalized in some parts of N. Y. Stem 

 thick. Leaves pinnately parted, with numerous linear segments. Flowers 

 crimson, IJ' diam. Seeds to be sown in autumn, in a light soil, f § 



5. RANUNCtJLUS. 



Lat. rana, a frog ; from the aquatic habitat of some species. 



Calyx of 5 ovate sepals ; corolla of 5 roundish, shining petals, each 

 with a nectariferous scale or pore at the base inside ; filaments 00. 

 much shorter than the petals ; achenia 00, crowded in a roundish or 

 oblong head. — Herbs mostly %, with yellow flowers. 

 *Leavcs all undivided. 



1. R. Flammula. Small Spearvsort. 



St. declinate ; Ivs. smooth, linear-lanceolate or ovate-lanceolate, lower ones 

 petiolate ; ped. opposite the leaves. — An aquatic herb, growing in ditches and 

 swamps. Can. to N. Car. W. to 111. ! Root fibrous. Stem 6 — 18' long, more or 

 less decumbent, succulent. Leaves 3 — 6' in length, \ — 1' wide, entire or with 

 a few teeth, thickened at the acute summit. Flowers solitary, of a golden yel- 

 low, on peduncles \ as long as the leaves. It abounds in a very acrid juice. 

 Jn. — Aug. 



2. R. REPTANs. Creeping Crowfoot. 



Very small, smooth ; st. creeping, geniculate, rooting ; nodes 1-flowered ; 

 Ivs. subulate, smooth, entire, remote. — A slender species, creeping on river banks 

 and other wet places, Hanover, N. H., {Mr. T. Rickard,) W. to Oregon. Stem 

 6 — 10' long, round, rooting at the joints. Leaves fleshy, 6 — 12" in length, 

 mostly very narrow, and acute at each end. Flowers on axillary peduncles. 

 Sepals spreading, obtuse. Petals obovate, yellow, fading to white. Nectary 

 covered by a scale. Achenia very^ smooth. Jl. 

 p. nvalis. Bw. Lvs. oval and lanceolate ; pet. 5 — 10. 



