Oudeb 1.— RANUNCULACEiE. 211 



blue, and when viewed at a little distance the stamens and bearded petals re- 

 semble a bae nestling within the calyx. \ Siberia. 



7 D. grandifldrum L. Lvs. palmately 5 — 7-parted, lobes linear, distant; 

 sessile. 3-clefc pedicels longer than bract; petals shorter than calyx. — A superb 

 perennial. Fls. double or single, in racemes, of brilliant dark blue, with a tinge 

 of purple, f Siberia. 



Observation. — A few other species may, perhaps, bo found in gardens. All are 

 showy plants, of the easiest culture. 



18. ACONITUM, Tourn. Wolfsbane. Fig. 283. (Gr. dicovirog, with- 

 out dust; because the plants grow fcn dry rocks.) Sepals 5, irregular, 

 colored, upper one vaulted ; petals 5, the 3 lower minutg, the 2 upper 

 on long claws, concealed beneath the upper sepal, recurved and nectar- 

 ifejous at the apex; styles 3—5; follicles 3 — 5. — U Lvs. digitate or 

 palmate. Fls. in terminal spikes. 



1 A. uncinatum L. Stem flexuous ; pan. rather loose, with divergent branches; 

 lvs. palmate, 3 — 5-parted, with rhomboidal-lanceolate, cut-dentati divisions; helmet 

 (upper sepal) exactly conical, short-beaked in front ; ova. villous. — A cultivated, 

 poisonous plant, also native, N. Y. to Ga. St. 2f high. Lvs. coriaceous, dark 

 green, 4 — 5' wide. Fls. large, purple, 3 or 4 near the summit of each branch. 

 JL, Aug. 



2 A. reclinatum Gray. St. trailing (3— 8f long) ; lvs. deeply 3— 7 -cleft, peti- 

 olate, divisions crenate, incised or lobed ; fls. white, in very loose panicles ; hel- 

 met soon horizontal, elongated conical, with a straight beak in front. — Alleghany 

 Mts., Va. and Southward. Aug. 



3 A. Napellus L. Monkshood. St. straight, erect ; lvs. deeply 5-cleft cut 

 into linear segments, furrowed above ; uppv sep. arched at the back, lateral ones 

 hairy in die; ova. smooth. — A poisonous plant cultivated among flowers. It 13 

 a tall, rank perennial, making quite a consequential appearance. St. 4f high, 

 with a long spicato inflorescence at its termination. Fls. dark blue, surmounted 

 by the vaulted upper sepal, as if hooded in a monk's cowl. Aug. There are 

 varieties with flowers white, rose-colored, etc. 



19. CIMICIFUGA, L. Bugbane. (Lat. cimex, a bug, fugo, to drive 

 away; alluding to its offensive odor.) Sepals 4 or 5, caducous ; petals 

 stamen-like, 1 — 8, small, clawed, 2-horned at apex ; sta. numerous, with 

 slender white filaments ; follicles 1 — 8, dry, dehiscent. — 4 Lvs. ternately 

 decompound. Flowers white, in long, slender racemes. 



§ Maoeotvs. Pistil 1, with a broad stigma, nnd seeds in two rows No. 1 



§ Cimipuga proper. Pistils 2 — S, with a minute stigma, seeds in one row Nos. 2, 3 



1 C. racemosa Ell. Black Snakeroot. Lfts. ovate-oblong, incisely serrate • 

 rac. very long ; caps, follicular, ovoid, sessile. — Plant resembling a tall Actsea, 

 found in upland woods Can. to Ga. St. 4 — Sf high, with long, panieled racemes 

 of white-sepaled and monogynous flowers. Petals 4 — 6, small. Sta. about 100 

 to each flower, giving the raceme tho appearance of a long and slender plume. 

 Fls. very fetid. Jn., JL (Actaea, L. Macrotys, Raf.) 



2 C. Americana Mx. Glabrous ; lvs. triternate, segm. ovate, terminal one cunei- 

 form at base, 3-parted or 3-cleft, and incised ; petals concave, sessile, 2-lobed, 

 nectariferous at base ; ova. 2 — 5, stiped, obovate and pod-shaped in fruit ; sds. 

 6— 8, flattened vertically.— Mts Penn. to K Car. and Tenn. St. 3— Gf high. Lfts. 

 2 — 4' long, with coarse, unequal, mucronate serratures. Fls. smaller than in C. 

 racemosa, in a long panicle of racemes. Aug. (C. podocarpa Eli. Acfeea podo- 

 carpa DC.) 



3 C. cordifolia Ph. Lvs. Uternate ; lfts. broadly cordate, 3— o-lobed : ova. 1— 3; 

 follicles sessile, 8 — 10-seeded. — Mts. Carolina. St. 3 — 5f high, terminating in a long 

 glabrous panicle of racemes. Sep. 5, roundish, petals spathulate, bifid, few or 



