Persian buttercup (R. asiaticus), double flowers up to 2 inches wide 

 and practically every shade except blue have been developed. 



Many buttercups are widely distributed in the mountains of the 

 West. One species with entire leaves, R. alismellus, closely resembles 

 plantainleaf buttercup and is sometimes considered a variety of it. 

 Macauley buttercup (R. macauleyi}, of very high elevations in Colo- 

 rado and New Mexico, has slightly toothed leaves but is of particular 

 interest because the outer flower parts (sepals) are conspicuously 

 black-hairy, making an interesting contrast to the large, bright 

 yellow petals. The common, sagebrush buttercup (R. glaberrimus) 

 and ivy buttercup, or seaside crowfoot (/?. cymbcdaria, syn. HcHer- 

 pestes (tymbcSUtirid) have very broad or almost round basal leaves, 

 with the edges indented into few to many shallow lobes. Sagebrush 

 buttercup is 2 to 6 inches high but is such an early plant that it is 

 mostly gone before livestock reach the range. The small ivy butter- 

 cup is interesting because it can reproduce by running stems, like 

 the strawberry. The largest of the more common buttercups in the 

 mountains of the West have all the leaves deeply divided. The 

 largest, great buttercup (R. mawimws) is a stout plant, sometimes 

 reaching a height of 4 feet; Bongard buttercup (R. bontfardi) and 

 western buttercup (R. oceidentalis] do not, as a rule, attain a height 

 of over 2 feet. Water buttercup (R. aquatilis, syn. BatracJilwm 

 aquatile) has finely dissected leaves and, as the name suggests, lives 

 in the water generally completely submerged except for its floating 

 white flowers. It is perhaps preferable to place it in the related 

 genus BatracMum. 



