RANUNCULACEAE OF IOWA. 97 



from a thick yellow rootstock which contains a yellow dye. 

 Leaves 3, reniform, palmately lobed, doubly serrate, the 

 basal long-petioled, the 2 cauline terminal, alternate, pet- 

 ioled. Flower solitary, pedicelled, subtended by the upper 

 leaf, greenish- white, sepals 3, caducous; petals wanting; 

 stamens many; pistils 12 or more. Fruit 1-2-seeded 

 crimson berries. 



This species is commonly known as Orange-root or 

 Golden Seal. It is rather rare within our limits. It oc- 

 curs in rich woods, flowering during the months of April 

 and May, and fruiting in July. Specimens before us are: 

 One flowering specimen from Muscatine county, May, 1890, 

 collected by Mr. F. Reppert who records, "rich woods, 

 scarce," two fruiting specimens from Muscatine county 

 transferred to our garden in July, 1895, and pressed July, 

 1897, and one fruiting specimen from Fayette county col- 

 lected July 10, 1894 by Prof. B. Fink. We have seen a 

 specimen in the collection of Herbert Goddard collected by 

 him in Winneshiek county. Prof. J. C. Arthur reports the 

 occurrence of the species in Lee county. It will be noticed 

 that the range in Iowa is limited to a narrow strip along 

 the eastern border. The species occurs in Minnesota (Up- 

 ham, MacMillan), Wisconsin, Michigan, Western Ontario 

 (Macoun), eastward to New York, New Jersey, and Dela- 

 ware (Tatnall), in Ohio (Newberry), Kentucky, Tennes- 

 see, Georgia, Missouri, and Arkansas (Coville) . Iowaforms 

 a portion of the middle western boundary of the range of this 

 species. The only other species of this genus occurs in 

 Japan. Pursh claims that the flowers are pale rose-colored 

 which does not agree with our observations. He further 

 says: "The roots are yellow and afford a fine dye." The 

 use of this dye was known to the aborigines. 



The species has suffered little at the hands of systema- 

 tists. Linnaeus named it Hydrophyllum verum canadensium 

 in the first edition of his Species Plantarum, vol. 1, p. 146, 

 in note, with the idea that the species was some form of a 



