ORDER 1. RANUNCULACE^E. 207 



and hills. Root a cluster of fleshy fibres. Root Ivs. on petioles 3 8' long, ter- 

 nate, with the middle segment long-stalked and again pinnately ternate ; lateral 

 segm. mostly sessile, all 3 5 cleft into acute lobes. Stems never creeping. 

 Pubescence silky, appressed. Fls. bright yellow, 1' broad. Petals spatulato- 

 obovate, with a broad scale. Beak of the carpels slender. Apr., May. 



3.3 R. repens L. Root fibrous; radical Ivs. ternate with stalked kaflets; pedun- 

 cles furrowed; carp, broadly margined and pointed. In moist and shady places. 

 Early flowering stems erect ; later branches from the base prostrate, 1 3 4f 

 long, generally hirsute at the base. Petioles hairy, long. Lvs. hairy on the 

 veins, dark green, ternate, the Ifts. ovato or broadly crenate, variously lobed and 

 cleft, all (or at least the middle ones) petiolulate. Fls. middle size, bright yel- 

 low. Fr. in a round head. May, Jl. Varies exceedingly in different localities 

 and stages of growth. Some of its more striking forms are: 

 /?. LINEARILOBUS. St. very long, floriferous, smoothish ; lobes of Ivs. very nar- 

 row. Fruit not strongly margined. 

 y. HI'SPIDUS. Stem and petioles densely hirsute with soft-spreading hairs ; Ifls. 



all distinctly stalked, deeply parted. Fr. short-pointed. 



6. NITIDDS. Mostly erect, glabrous ; fls. large, sep. reflexed ; fr. strongly mar- 

 gined. Common South. Probably a distinct species. 



14 R. palmatus E1L Lvs. palmately 3 5 cleft or divided, with the sinus at base 

 dosed, the segm. att sessile and cut-toothed or lobed; carp, few, margined, and 

 straight-beaked. In wet barrens, Car. to Fla. St. 1218' high, with a few- 

 slender branches, pubescent. Lvs. all petiolate, pentangular in outline, 1 2' 

 wide, with appressed pubescence. Upper Ivs. of 3 linear segments. Fls. few, 

 yellow, small (68" diam.) Fr. compressed. 



15 R. acris L. BUTTER-CUPS. St. erect, many-flowered ; Ivs. more or less pu- 

 bescent, deeply trifid, with the base segm. divaricate, all laciniatc, upper ones with 

 linear segments ; ped. terete; cal. hairy, spreading ; carp, roundish, smooth, com- 

 pressed ; beak short, recurved. This is the most common species in N. Eng. and 

 Can., in meadows and pastures, rapidly and extensively spreading. St. 1 2f 

 high, round, hollow, mostly hairy. Lvs. 1 \ 3' diam., upper ones in 3 linear seg- 

 ments. Fig. large (!' diam.), golden yellow. Jn., Sept. 



/?. PLii.VA. Fls. double, the petals excessively multiplied. Gardens. 



16 R. Pennsylva'nicus L. Hirsute, with stiff, spreading hairs ^Ivs. ternate, Ifts. 

 sub-petiolate, deeply 3-lobed, incisely serrate ; cal. reflexed, rather longer than the 

 roundish petals ; carp, tipped with a short, straight style. A very hairy species 

 in wet grounds, Can. and U. S. Stem 1J 3f high. ~Lv?. 23' diam., Ifts. 

 strongly veined and with spreading segments. FJs. numerous, small, bright 

 yellow. Fruit in dense oblong or cylindrical heads. Ju., Aug. (R. hispidus 

 Ph.) 



17 R. sceleratua Ph. Smooth; lower Ivs. 3-parted, segm. 3-lobed, crenateby 

 incised, or entire; carp, minute, pointless. Grows in wet places, Can. to Ga. 

 St. rather thick, hollow, much branched, 1 l^f high. Lower petioles 3 5' 

 long, with rather large, palmately 3 5-parted leaves. Floral Ivs. or bracts 

 mostly simple, lanceolate and entire. Fls. small, yellow. Cal. reflexed, as lon 

 as the minute petals. Hds. of carpels only 2 3" long. This is one of the mrst 

 acrid of the tribe, and will raise blisters upon the skin. Jn., Jl. 



18 R. recurvatus L. Hirsute with thin, spreading hairs; Ivs. all similarly 3-parted, 

 segm. oval, unequally incised, the lateral ones 2-lobed; cal. recurved, longer 

 than the lanceolate petals ; ach. with a hooked beak. About 1 f high, in damp 

 woods. Lab. to Fia. Palo green, branching above. Lva. 1^ 2' long, 2 3' 

 wide, on petioles 3 6' long. Upper Ivs. subsessile and 3-parted quite to the 

 base. Fls. small, with inconspicuous, palo yellow petals. Carp, ovate, tipped 

 with long, hooked beaks. May Jl. 



19 R. bulbostis L. Hairy; st. erect, bulbovs at the base; radical Ivs. ternate, 

 Ifts. petiolate. incisely dentate, each about 3-cleft ; ped. furrowed, cal. reflexed. 

 This is another acrid species, very common in pastures, mow-lands, &c. Rt. 

 fleshy. St. leafy, furrowed, 6 18' high, hollow, thickened at the base into a 

 sort of bulb, and dividing above into upright peduncles, with golden yellow i 



