Vou. II.] CROWFOOT FAMILY. 53 
1. Helleborus viridis L. Green 
Hellebore. (Fig. 1549.) 
Helleborus viridis Y,. Sp. Pl. 558. 1753- 
Stout, erect, 1°-2° high, glabrous. Basal 
leaves 8/12’ broad, on petioles 6’-10’ long, 
palmately divided into 7-11 oblong acute 
sharply serrate segments 3/-4’ long; stem 
hardly exceeding the basal leaves, and bear- 
ing several sessile similar leaves near the top 
subtending the large drooping yellowish- 
green flowers; sepals broadly oblong, obtuse, 
spreading, about 1’ long; petals tubular, 2- 
lipped, 2’’ long; stamens widened; anthers 
oblong, obtuse; pods 8’ long, tipped with a 
slender beak one-third their length or longer. 
In waste places, locally adventive from Eu- 
rope in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania 
and West Virginia. May. 
v 
5: ERANTHIS Salisb. Trans. Linn. Soc. 8: Oss TOK. 
Low herbs, with perennial tuberiferous rootstocks. Basal leaves palmately dissected. 
Cauline leaf one, borne near the summit of the stem, sessile or amplexicaul, immediately 
subtending the large yellow flower. Sepals 5-8, narrow, petaloid, deciduous. Petals, small 
two-lipped nectaries. Stamens numerous. Carpels commonly few, stipitate, many-ovuled, 
in fruit forming a head of follicles. [Greek, flower of spring. ] 
A genus of about 5 species, natives of Europe and the mountains of Asia. 
1. Eranthis hyemalis (L.) Salisb. Win- 
ter Aconite or Hellebore. (Fig. 1550.) 
Flelleborus hyemalis 1, Sp. Pl. 557. 1753. 
Eranthis hyemalis Salisb. Trans. Linn. Soc. 8: 304- 
1803. 
Erect, simple, 5-8’ high from a tuberous-thick- 
ened rootstock; roots fibrous. Basal leaves long- 
petioled, 114’ broad, divided and cleft into numer- 
ous linear or oblong lobes; cauline leaf similar, in- 
volucrate,sessile,clasping; flower solitary, 114’ wide, 
sessile; sepals 5-9, membranous, obovate, obtuse, 
occasionally lobed; petals several, clawed, 2-lipped; 
stamens numerous; filaments filiform; anthers ob- 
long, obtuse; carpels several, stipitate; follicles 
compressed, 5’’ long, tipped with a sharp beak. 
Naturalized from Europe at Bartram’s Garden, Phil- 
adelphia, and at Media, Pa. February. 
6. COPTIS Salisb. Trans. Linn. Soc. 8: 305. 1803. 
Low herbs, with slender perennial rootstocks, basal compound or divided leaves, and 
scapose white flowers. Sepals 5-7, petaloid, deciduous; petals 5-6, small, linear, cucullate. 
Stamens numerous. Carpels stipitate, few, in fruit forming an umbel of follicles. [Name 
from the Greek, referring to the cut or divided leaves. ] 
A genus of about 9 species, inhabiting the cooler portions of the north temperate zone. In 
addition to the following, three others are found on the Pacific Coast of North America. 
