6 THALAMI FLORAE 



shaped, angular ; sepals 3 ; petals about 9. One of our brightest 

 and earliest spring flowers, studding every bank with its glossy- 

 yehow, starlike flowers. Fl. March to May. Perennial. 



Flowers yr J low ; leaves divided ; carpels smooth 



6. R. auricomus (Wood Crowfoot, or Goldilocks). Radicle 

 leaves kidney-shaped, lobed, on longish stalks ; stem leaves 

 deeply divided, without Stalks. Whole plant about a foot high. 

 Flowers mostly irregular, owing to some of the petals being im- 

 perfectly developed. Common in woods. Fl. April, May. 

 Perennial. 



7. R. sceleratus (Celery-leaved Crowfoot). Leaves smooth, cut 

 into oblong segments ; stem hollow, juicy, erect, branched ; 

 carpels collected into an oblong head. A highly acrid species, 

 from 6 inches to 2 feet high, growing in watery places in most 

 parts of the world. Leaves glossy ; petals small, pale yellow. 

 Fl. June to August. Annual. 



8. R. bulbosus (Bulbous Buttercup). Calyx reflexed ; flower- 

 stalks channelled ; root bulbous ; whole plant about a foot high. 

 A common British meadow plant. Fl. May, June. Perennial. 



9. R. repens (Creeping Buttercup). Calyx spreading ; flower- 

 stalks channelled ; root creeping. A common and most trouble- 

 some weed, increasing by creeping shoots, or scions, which take 

 root wherever a leaf is produced. June to August. Perennial. 



10. R. acris (Meadow Crowfoot). Calyx spreading ; flower- 

 stalks cylindrical, not furrowed ; plant from 2-3 feet high ; root 

 composed of long fibres. Meadows very common throughout 

 Britain. Well distinguished from the preceding by the above 

 characters, as well as by its slender stem and by the narrower 

 segments of its upper leaves. Fl. June, July. Perennial. 



A double variety is common in gardens, under the name of 

 Bachelor's Buttons. 



Flowers yellow ; leaves divided ; carpels not smooth 



11. R. hirsutus (Pale Hairy Buttercup). Calyx reflexed ; 

 root fibrous ; carpels margined, and rough with small tubercles ; 

 plant 6 inches to 1 foot high ; flowers pale yellow. Meadows 

 and waste giound. Fl. June to October. Annual. 



12. R. arvensis (Corn Crowfoot). Calyx spreading ; carpeli 

 large and prickly ; leaves deeply divided ; flowers pale yellow ; 

 plant about 18 inches high, nearly glabrous. One of the most 

 poisonous of the genus, yet its seeds are said to be a favourite 

 food of partridges. A common weed in cornfields, especially in 

 the south of England Fl. June to August. Annual. 



