Order 1.— RANUNCULACEvE. 205 



dehiscent, angular, 1-seeded, tipped with the short, hooked style. — 



1i Lvs. palmately lobed. Fls. corymbous. 



T. palmata Fisch and Meyer. A coarse plant of the prairies and woods, Va. to 

 Can., W. to 111. Stem slender, 2 — 5f high, terete, smooth, terminating in a large 

 branching corymb. Radical lvs. 4 — 6' wide by 3 — 5' long, rugous and reticulate- 

 veined. 5 — t) lobed, long-stalked ; stem lvs. few, remote'the upper sessile. Fls. 

 many, white. Sepals orbicular, concave, falling as soon as expanding. Jl., Aug. 

 (Cimicifuga, Hook.) 



6. ADONIS, L. Pheasant's-Eye. (Feigned to have sprung from 

 the blood of Adonis when wounded by the boar.) Sepals 5, appressed ; 

 petals 5 — 15, with a naked (scaleless) claAv. Achenia spiked, ovate 

 and pointed with the hardened, persistent style. — Herbs with dissected 

 lvs. and terminal, solitary, red or yellow flowers. 



1 A. autuinnalis L. Petals 5 — 8 {crimson), concave and connivent. — A fino 

 hardy annual, from Europe, naturalized in some parts of the country. Stem 

 thick, branching, If high. Lvs. pinnately parted, with numerous linear seg- 

 ments. Fls. 1£' diam. Carpels crowned with a very short style, and collected 

 into an ovate or sub-cylindric head. Seeds to be sown in autumn in a light 

 BoiL 



2 A. vernalia L. Petals 10 — 12 (yellow), oblong, spreading. — A handsome 

 perennial, from Europe. Stem branching, 1 f. high. Lvs. sessile, multilid. 



7. RANUNCULUS, L. Crowfoot. Buttercups. Fig. 24, 241, 

 242, 294, 369, 458, 386, 415. (Lat. rana, a frog; from the aquatic 

 habitat of some species.) Calyx of 5 ovate sepals ; coiolla of 5 round- 

 ish, shining petals, each with a nectariferous scale (Fig. 294) or pore at 

 the base inside ; filaments oo ; achenia co, flattened, pointed, crowded 

 in a roundish or oblong head. — Herbs, mostly 4 , with alternate leaves 

 and yellow flowers. 



Seeds (carpels) rough with points or prickles Nos. 1, S 



Seeds (carpels) smooth and even, or merely rugous (a). 



a Leaves in fine, numerous, thread-like divisions, under water Nos. 3,4 



a Leaves all undivided and simple. — Stems creeping .Nos. 5, 6 



— Stems erect Nos. 7 — 9 



a Root-lvs. simply crenate or lobed, stem leaves divided Nos. 10,11 



a Leaves all more or less divided, not submersed (b). 



b Sepals spreading in flower, shorter than the shoivy petals Nos. 12 — 14 



b Sepals reflexed in flower. — Head of carpels oblong Nos. 15, 10 



— Heads of carpels globous Nos. 17, 18 



1 R. muricatus L. Glabrous ; carpels aculeate, strongly margined, and ending 

 in a stout, ensiform, recurved leak. Va. to La. Stem branched, erect, If high. 

 Lvs. roundish (1^' diam.), cordate, 3-lobed, lobes coarsely crenate^oothed, all 

 similar, and on petioles 1 — 5' long. Bracts close to the flower, Rmple. Fls. 

 email, few. Pet. obovate, yellow. Carpels large (3" long, including beak). 

 § Eur. 



2 R. parviflorus L. Villous; carpels roundish, granulated, tipped with a very 

 short beak. — Va. to La. Stem 6 — 12' high, slender, branched. Lvs. all petiolate, 

 small, roundish (9 — 16" diam.), cordate, 3-lobed er parted, the segments acutely 

 toothed. Fls. quite small, the yellow petals not exceeding the calyx. Seeds 

 scarcely 1" in length, in a globular head. § Eur. 



3 R. aquatilis L. ft capillaceus. Lvs. all fiiliformly dissected; pet. white; 

 carpels transversely rugous. — Ponds and sluggish streams, Arctic Am. to S. Car., 

 W. to Rocky Mts. The whole plant is submerged except the flowers, and per- 

 haps a few of the upper leaves. Stem 1 — 2f or more in length, slender, weak, 

 round, smooth, jointed. Leaves divided dichotomously into numerous hair-like 

 segments, in outline roundish and \ — 1' diam. Ped. thick, 1 — 1J' long. Fls. 

 smaller than in R. acris. Petals rathe* narrow, white, except the yellow claws. 

 TL, Aug. 



