RANUNCULACEJE. (CROWFOOT FAMILY.) 11 
eral divisions sessile, the terminal stalked and 3-parted, all wedge- 
shaped, cleft and toothed ; peduncles furrowed; petals round, wedge- 
shaped at the base, much longer than the reflexed calyx; carpels tip¬ 
ped with a very short beak.—Meadows and pastures, introduced 
from Europe, very abundant in E. New England. May-July. — A 
foot high. Leaves appearing as if pinnate. Petals often 6 or 7, deep 
glossy yellow, the corolla more than an inch broad. 
16. R. acris, L. (Tall Crowfoot, Buttercups.) Hairy; 
stem erect; leaves 3-divided; the divisions all sessile and 3-cleft or 
parted, their segments cut into lanceolate or linear crowded lobes; 
peduncles not furrowed; petals obovate, much longer than the 
spreading calyx. — Meadows and fields, everywhere; introduced 
from Europe. June-Aug. — Plant twice the height of No. 15, the 
flower nearly as large but not so bright and deep yellow. — The 
Buttercups are avoided by cattle, on account of their very acrid 
juice, which, however, being volatile, is dissipated in drying, when 
these plants are cut with hay. 
Tribe IV. HELLEBORlNEiE. The Hellebore Tribe. 
8. ISOPI BUM, L. (Enemion, Raf.) 
Sepals 5, petal-like, deciduous. Petals 5, minute, wanting in 
the American species. Stamens 10-40. Pistils 3-6 or more, 
pointed with short styles. Pods ovate or oblong, 2 -several- 
seeded. — Slender smooth herbs, with 2 - 3-ternately compound 
leaves ; the leaflets 2 - 3-lobed. Flowers axillary and terminal, 
white. (Name from icros, equal , and irvpos, wheat , which has no 
obvious meaning as applied to these plants.) 
1. I. Intern at urn, Torr. & Gray. Petals none; pistils 3-6 
(commonly 4), divaricate in fruit, 2-3-seeded; seeds even. — Moist 
shady places, Ohio and Indiana. May. — Fibres of the root thicken¬ 
ed here and there into little tubers. Foliage and size of the plant 
much like Thalictrum anemonoides. 
9. CiLTHA, L. Marsh Marigold. 
Sepals 6-9, petal-like. Petals none. Pistils 5-10, with no 
styles. Pods (follicles) compressed, spreading, many-seeded. 
Glabrous perennials, with round and heart-shaped or kidney-form 
large undivided leaves. (Name from KakaOos , a goblet , in allu¬ 
sion to the golden flower-cup or calyx.) 
1* C. palustris, L. (Marsh Marigold.) Stem hollow, fur- 
