12 RANUNCUXACEiE. (CROWFOOT FAMILY.) 
rowed; leaves round or kidney-shaped, either crenate or nearly en¬ 
tire; sepals about 6, broadly oval (bright yellow). — Swamps and 
wet meadows, April-May.—This well-known plant is used a* a 
pot-herb in spring, when coming into flower, under the name of Cow¬ 
slips , but the Cowslip is a totally different plant, namely, a specie? 
of Primrose. The Caltha should bear with us, as in England, the 
popular name of Marsh Marigold. 
TROLLIES, L. Globe-flo\ver. 
Sepals 5-15, petal-like. Petals numerous, small, 1 -lipped, the 
concavity near the base. Stamens and pistils numerous. Pods 9 
^ or more, sessile, many-seeded. — Smooth perennials with pah 
mately parted and cut leaves, like Ranunculus, and large solitary 
terminal flowers. (Name thought to be derived from the old Ger¬ 
man word troll , a globe, or something round.) 
^ 1stxus, Salisb. (Spreading Globe-flower.) Sepal* 
o — 6, spreading; petals 15—25, inconspicuous, much shorter than th® 
stamens. —Deep swamps, New Hampshire to Penn, and Michigan. 
Ma y* Flowers twice the size of the common Buttercup ; the se¬ 
pals spreading, so that the name is not appropriate, as it is to the Eu** 
pean Globe-flower of the gardens, nor is it showy, the color being * 
pale greenish yellow. 
11. COPTIS, Salisb. Gold-thread. 
Sepals 5-7, petal-like, deciduous. Petals 5 - 7, small, club- 
shaped, tubular at the apex. Stamens 15 - 25. Pistils 3 - 00 
slender stalks. Pods divergent, membranaceous, pointed with the 
style, 4 - 8-seeded. — Low smooth perennials, with ternately di¬ 
vided root-leaves, and small white flowers on scapes. (Name fro® 
KOTrra, to cut , alluding to the divided leaves.) 
L C, trifolia, Salisb. (Three-leaved Goldthread ) 
lets 3, obovate - wedge-form, sharply toothed, obscurely 3-lobeL 
scape 1-flowered. — Bogs, abundant northward. May. — R° ot ° 
long, bright yellow, bitter fibres. Leaves evergreen, shining- Sc*P® 
naked, slender, 3> - 5' high. 
12. HELLEBORES, L. Hellebore- 
Sepals 5, petal-like or greenish, persistent. Petals 8 - 1^? reI ^ 
small, tubular, 2-lipped. Pistils 3 -10, sessile, forming coriace¬ 
ous many-seeded pods. — Perennial herbs of the Old World, " ith 
ample palmate or pedate leaves, and large solitary nodding flowers- 
