82 ELEMENTS OF BOTANY. 



6. Iv. KEPENS L. Creeping Crowfoot. Perennial ; stems 

 sometimes erect, 5-10 in. high, but usually forming long runners, 

 smooth or hairy ; leaves ternate or 3-parted, the divisions stalked, 

 3-cleft or toothed ; flowers bright yellow, 1 in. or more in width ; 

 petals mvich longer than the sepals ; achenia in globose heads, 

 smooth, broadly margined, beak broad, straight or slightly curved. 

 Quite variable in size and habit of growth, often producing flowers 

 on erect stems before runners are formed. March-May. On rich, 

 moist soil. 



7. R. FAScicuLARis Mulil. TuFTED BuTTERCUP. Perennial, 

 from a cluster of thickened, fleshy roots ; stem erect, pubescent, 4- 

 9 in. high ; root leaves ternate, but the middle division long-stalked 

 and 3-5-parted, making the leaf appear pinnate ; stem leaves 3-5- 

 parted or lobed, the divisions oblong or elliptical ; flowers bright 

 yellow, 1 in. broad ; petals obovate, much longer than the sepals ; 

 achenia smooth, scarcely margined, beak slender, straight or slightly 

 curved. March-May. On rich soil and rocky hills ; more common 

 northward. 



XI. THALICTRUM. 



Perennial herbs ; leaves compound or decompound ; flowers 

 in umbels or panicles, polygamous or dioecious ; sepals petal- 

 like or greenish ; petals none ; achenia ribbed. 



T. POLYGAMUM Muhl. Meadow Rue. Stems from fibrous 

 roots, tall and coarse, nearly or quite smooth, 4-8 ft. tall ; leaves 

 decompound, those of the stem sessile, the others long-petioled ; leaf- 

 lets oval or oblong, often cordate, smooth or pubescent beneath, quite 

 variable in size on the same plant ; flowers small, in large panicles ; 

 sepals 4 or 5, wdiite ; achenia short stalked. May- August. Woods 

 and meadows. 



XII. P^ONIA. 



Perennial, from thick, fleshy roots ; stems shrubby or her- 

 baceous ; leaves much divided ; flowers terminal, large and 

 showy ; sepals 5, leaf -like and persistent ; petals 5 or more ; 

 pistils 3-5, ovaries surrounded by a disk. 



P. OFFICINALIS L. Garden P.eony. Herbaceous; flowering 

 stems 1-2 ft. high ; leaves ample ; leaflets lance-ovate, cut or incised, 

 smooth ; flow^ers double, white or red ; follicles 2, erect, many-seeded. 

 Common in oardens. 



