i.j RANUNCULACE^E. 115 



In some species the stamens are very apt, under 

 cultivation, to develop as petals, thus forming what are 

 called " double flowers," as in Batchelor's Button (Ranun- 

 culus acris) and the white-flowered R. aconitifolius. The 

 double R. orientalis is an esteemed florist's flower. In 

 Figwort or Lesser Celandine (R. Ficarta) the petals vary 

 in number from 8 to u, and the sepals are either 3 or 4. 

 This species, when growing in damp places, often pro- 

 duces axillary buds in the form of bulbels small bulbs, 

 which drop away from the parent, developing inde- 

 pendent plants. 



OBSERVE the phyllodineous leaves of Ranunculus 

 gramineus : the involucre of Anemone, in some species 

 separated by a very short internode from the petaloid 

 calyx, as in the Hepatica (A. Hepaticd) : the irregular 

 calyx and corolla of Monkshood (Aconituni) and Lark- 

 spur (Delphinium} and the spurred petals of Columbine 

 (Aquilegid} : the receptacle of Mousetail (Myosurus), the 

 portion' which bears the carpels lengthening out very 

 much after flowering, so as to resemble a mouse's tail. 



Compare the fruits of Ranunculus, Clematis (achene) ; 

 Monkshood (follicle] ; Baneberry (berry]\ and Nigella 

 an exotic genus found in gardens with the exceptional 

 character in the Ranunculus Family of coherent follicles, 

 forming a capsule, 



Many plants of the Order are very acrid and poisonous. 

 Tramps, to excite compassion, use the leaves of the 

 Meadow and Celery-leaved Ranunculus (R. acris and 

 R. sceleratus) to produce blisters. Monkshood is very 

 poisonous, and the root has been mistaken for Horse- 

 radish, although destitute of its pungent smell, with fatal 

 result. The root of A. ferox^ an Indian species, affords 

 one of the Bikh poisons used in the Himalaya to poison 

 arrows for tiger-shooting. 



2. Natural Order Berberideas. The Barberry Family. 



DISTRIBUTION. Confined to the North and South 

 temperate zones and intertropical mountains. But one 

 species occurs in tropical Africa, and none in Australia. 

 One British genus, species i. 



Shrub. Stamens 6, anthers opening by valves. 



I 2 



