RANUNCULACEAE CROWFOOT FAMILY 
This large family is confined mostly to the northern 
hemisphere. It is not of very great economic importance 
except that some of its members, such as Peonies and 
Larkspurs, are much prized as garden flowers and orna- 
mental plants. 
The Buttercups, or genus Ranunculus, contain an 
acrid juice which makes them unpalatable to horses and 
cattle. For this reason they often form tufts of green 
untouched herbage in an otherwise closely grazed pasture. 
- Their genus name is derived from the Latin rana meaning 
frog, and was used because some of the Buttercups grow 
in places where frogs are abundant. 
In using the key to the genera it must be remembered 
that the calyx is often colored like a corolla, especially 
when the corolla is lacking, and when only one set of 
organs is present in addition to stamens and pistils it is 
ordinarily a calyx rather than a corolla. The genus 
Hepatica is likely to be troublesome because its sepals 
look like petals and there is a 3-leaved involucre close 
under the flower that looks like a calyx. 
KEY TO GENERA 
SS ee od a er ee a ea Clematis p. 106 
Pere OE CUTIE AS bk bos bes se do eo ee ees 2 
PeeGerateseit. NL. or oe ok ok te oda see ee eee : 
ee Nee a co cas ote bw 6s a aie Meee Soke eat 5 
3. Petals produced backward into spurs........ Aquilegia p. 110 
ETT Vga Rly 5 ESO tp Ray gE A Rn aI SAP ef Pr 4 
SEEDING TIMINICTOUS <0. c.5 oa Foo ood sn ioe mane a Ranunculus p. 96 
spre OF es TUit a DEFTLY. ..¢ ebiccani sede > oe sae Actaea p. III 
pes Prete AT DCTLIECE o.4 & wpa osm bp ened we aenedt > Thalictrum p. 100 
TISELGE Se Ted oe i a on ei Seen eens, a poe Wy el 6 
a Urinmommnmmetna it i te, aes | ale oe Caltha p. 109 
emmecen tte getty. fl Ve a SS aah Eo ae ee G 
7. Leaves or leaflets about 3-lobed but without small teeth... .8 
emmes Gh lcaners, LOGENEE, o> 6.5 oe oo. da ele ee se Fe eee if) 
San tne CEN oe "Se As ot ass wind of Dele ee ee Hepatica p. 102 
oeereaectanaies Chie 4s. clei 3 Sed a RE) il aaa 9 
9. Ovaries 1-seeded; fruit an akene............ Anemonella p. 101 
Ovaries 2-several-seeded; fruit a pod........ Isopyrum p. 108 
1o. Sepals 3, falling off as flowers open.......... Hydrastis p. 112 
See SNMOTE GMAtt 9 3 oe S2 Pe kk ed ylak noe > Anemone p. 103 
