IMPROVEMENT OF GRASS LAND 



153 



careous soils. The Bulbous and Upright Crowfoots 

 are the common Buttercups of grass land. R. repens 

 (see p. 50) is chiefly a pest on arable land, but may 

 occasionally quite 

 suppress the ordinary 

 herbage of grass land. 

 It is easily distin- 

 guished from the fore- 

 going by its rooting 

 runners, by which it 

 rapidly spreads (Fig. 

 8). R. Ficaria differs 

 essentially from the 

 three species already 

 mentioned, in which 

 the leaves are much 

 lobed and segmented. 

 In Lesser Celandine 

 the leaves are chiefly 

 heart-shaped, and 

 largely spring from 

 the base of the plant 

 on long stalks. The 

 golden-yellow star- 

 like flowers are about 

 | inch across, and bear 

 eight to twelve petals 

 instead of five, as in 

 the case of the other 

 three species. The 

 plant is perennial, and its flowers appear between March 

 and May. This species is not often troublesome in 

 grass land. (See also p. 280.) 



There is a tradition that Buttercups impart a good 

 colour to butter. They are, however, weeds, and out of 



FIG. 40. Bulbous Buttercup or Crowfoot 

 (Ranunculus bulbosus L. ), xj 



