LIFE HISTORIES OF FAMILIAR PLANTS 



not grown tall. The meadow buttercup, which 

 comes later, has often to develop its stem to more 

 than twice that height, otherwise its flowers would 

 be hidden from the fertilising insects. 



We have here, therefore, two plants whose 

 close relationship is obvious and which grow in 

 identical situations, but on account of slight 

 variations in their structure to adapt them to 

 varied circumstances with regard to the time of 

 their appearance, they have become distinct 

 species. In the same way there are some thirteen 

 other species of British buttercups all bearing a 

 superficial resemblance, but all of which differ one 

 from another very considerably in details. Only 

 the botanist, however, stops to distinguish between 

 the Wood Buttercup (Ramuiculus miricomus), the 

 Corn Buttercup (R, arvensis), the Hairy Butter- 

 cup (R, hirsiUus), and the other species of the 

 genera ; yet a little study of their details reveals 

 many interesting facts and sheds a wonderful 

 amount of light on the reasons for their differ- 

 ences. 



I have not the space at my disposal in this 

 little volume to consider all the various species of 

 the true buttercups, especially as I have to deal 

 with their advanced relatives also in this chapter, 

 but probably readers will find some pleasure in 

 investigating on their own account amongst the 

 different buttercup species. I will take one other 

 example as a further indication of the methods 

 which such investigation should follow. 



Here, over the surface of the pond, is the 



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