POISONOUS PLANTS 279 



R. scekratus L., known as Celery-leaved Buttercup, is 

 an upright annual, about i to 2 feet high, with smooth 

 leaves divided into three irregular lobes. It occurs in 

 ditches, ponds, and wet places, flowering from May to 

 September. The flowers are small, about one-fourth of 

 an inch across, and the sepals reflexed, or turned sharply 

 back towards the hollow stem. This species is especially 

 noxious to farm stock. 



R. acris L., Tall Crowfoot or Acrid Buttercup, is a 

 hairy erect perennial with much divided leaves. It 

 attains to a height of 3 feet ; the flowers are much larger 

 than those of R. sceleratus, being about three-quarters of 

 an inch across. The sepals are spreading, and the flower 

 stalks cylindrical. Tall Crowfoot is found in meadows 

 and by roadsides ; flowering takes place between April 

 and September. Tall Crowfoot has been a frequent 

 cause of cattle poisoning, and induces intense inflamma- 

 tion of the digestive organs. (See also p. 152.) 



R. bnlbosus L., or Bulbous Buttercup, is another hairy 

 erect perennial, distinguished from other Buttercups by 

 the stem, which has a swollen bulb-like base, generally 

 about the size of a hazel nut. The leaves are divided, and 

 the flowers, which open from May to June, are J to i inch 

 across, the sepals being reflexed to touch the flower 

 stalk. It is similar in its poisonous qualities to R. 

 acris. (See also p. 152.) 



R. Flammula L., the Lesser Spearwort, is a common 

 species of Ranunculus in wet places, such as water 

 meadows and marshes. It attains a height of i foot, 

 and bears long, narrow, pointed leaves, very different 

 in form from those of the field Buttercups. The 

 flowers are about half an inch in diameter when fully 

 open, and appear between June and August. This 

 species has, according to Henslow, often proved fatal 

 to horses and cattle which have eaten it ; such accidents 



