Vor. II.] CROWFOOT FAMILY. 
24. Ranunculus répens lL. Creep- 
ing Buttercup. (Fig. 1618.) 
Ranunculus repens I. Sp. Pl. 554. 1753- 
Generally hairy, sometimes only slightly 
so, spreading by runners and forming large 
patches. Leaves petioled, 3-divided, the ter- 
minal division, or all three stalked, all ovate, 
cuneate or truncate, acute, cleft and lobed, 
often blotched; flowers nearly 1/ broad; petals 
obovate, much exceeding the spreading 
sepals; head of fruit globose, 4’’ in diameter; 
achenes margined, tipped with a stout short 
slightly bent beak. 
Fields and roadsides, frequent from Nova 
Scotia to Virginia and locally in the interior. 
Mainly introduced from Europe; possibly indi- 
genous in some districts. May-July. 
25. Ranunculus septentrionalis Poir. 
Swamp or Marsh Buttercup. (Fig. 1619. ) 
Ranunculus septentrionalis Poir. in Lam. Encycl. 6: 
125. 1804. 
Roots simply fibrous; plant branching, 1°-3° 
high, glabrous, or sometimes pubescent, the later 
branches procumbent and sometimes rooting at the 
nodes. Leaves large, petioled, 3-divided; divisions 
mostly cuneate at the base, cleft into broad 
lobes; lower petioles occasionally a foot long; flow- 
ers I/ in diameter or more, bright yellow; petals 
obovate, twice the length of the spreading sepals; 
head of fruit globose or oval, 4/’ in diameter; 
achenes flat, strongly margined, subulate-beaked 
by the stout sword-shaped style which is of 
nearly their length and often early deciduous. 
Mainly in swamps and low grounds, New Brunswick 
ere south to Georgia and Kentucky. April- 
26. Ranunculus hispidus Michx. 
Hispid Buttercup. (Fig. 1620.) 
R. hispidus Michx. Fl. Bor. Am. 1: 321. 1803. 
Densely villous when young, sometimes 
merely appressed-pubescent or glabrate when 
old; stems ascending or spreading, 8’-2° long; 
plant not stoloniferous; roots a cluster of thick- 
ened fibres. Leaves pinnately 3-5-divided, the 
divisions ovate, oblong or obovate, narrowed or 
cuneate at the base, sharply cleft or lobed, 
usually thin; flowers 6//-18’’ broad; petals 
about twice as long as the spreading sepals; 
head of fruit globose-oval or globose; achenes 
broadly oval, lenticular, narrowly margined, 
abruptly, tipped by a subulate style of about , 
one-half their length. 
In dry woods and thickets, Ontario to the North- 
west Territory, south to Georgia and Arkansas: 
‘The earliest flowering Buttercup of the vicinity of 
New York. Ascends to 6000 ft, in North Carolina. 
March-May. 
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