RANUNCULACE^E. (CROWFOOT FAMILY.) 9 



orbicular with a minute beak, in a spherical head ; petals large, exceeding the calyx 

 (Also R. brevicatilis & ovalis, Hook.} Prairies, Michigan to Illinois, April, 

 May. Stems S'-G' high, sometimes not longer than the root-leaves. Flower 

 deep yellow, as lai'ge as in N"o. 12. 



8. R. abortlVUS, L. (SMALL-FLOWERED CROWFOOT.) Glabrous and 

 very smooth; primary root-leaves round heart-shaped or kidney-form, barely crenate, 

 the .succeeding ones often 3-lobed or 3-parted ; those of the stem and branches 

 3 5-parted or divided, subsessile ; their divisions oblong or narrowly wedge- 

 form, mostly toothed ; carpels in a globular head, mucronate with a minute curved 

 bmk : petals shorter than the rejlexed calyx. Shady hill-sides and along brooks, 

 common. April -June. Stem erect, 6' -2 high, at length branched above, 

 the pale yellow flowers very small in proportion. 



Var. mi*' 3V BltllllS. Pubescent; root-leaves seldom at all heart-shaped, 

 some of them 3-partcd or 3-dividcd; divisions of the upper stem-leaves more 

 linear and entire; peduncles more slender. (R. micranthus, Nutt.) Massa- 

 chusetts (near Boston, C. J. Sprague], Michigan, Illinois, and. westward. 



9. R. scelcratus, L. (CURSED CROWFOOT.) Smooth and glabrous ; 

 ro>>1 -lea ves 3-lobcd, rounded ; lower stem-leaves 3-partcd, the lobes obtusely cut 

 and toothed, the uppermost almost sessile, with the lobes oblong-linear and near- 

 ly entire ; carpels barely mucronulate, very numerous, in oblong or cylindrical heads ; 

 petals scarcely exceeding the calyx. Wet ditches : appearing as if introduced. 

 June -Aug. Stem thick and hollow, 1 high. Leaves thickish. Juice acrid 

 ami blistering. Flowers small, pale yellow. (Eu.) 



10. R. reci.tr vfttus, Poir. (HOOKED CROWFOOT.) Hirsute; leaves 

 of the root and stem nearly alike, long-petioled, deeply 3-cleft, large, the lobes broad- 

 ly wedge-shaped, 2 - 3-cleft, cut and toothed towards the apex ; carpels in a glob- 

 ular Jim id, flat and margined, conspicuously beaked by the long and recurved hooked 

 styles ; petals shorter t/ian the rejlexed calyx, pale. Woods, common. May, June. 

 Stem l-2 high. 



-. *-- ++ Leaves all ternately parted, or compound, the divisions cleft : achenia fiat. 

 a. Head of carpels oblong : petals pale, not exceeding the calyx. 



11. R. Pennsylvaiiicus, L. (BRISTLY CROWFOOT.) Hirsute with 

 rough spreading bristly hairs ; stem stout, erect ; divisions of the leaves stalked, 

 somewhat ovate, unequally 3-clcft, sharply cut and toothed, acute ; carpels 

 pointed with a sharp straight beak. Wet places, common. June -Aug. A 

 coarse plant, 2 -3 high, Avith inconspicuous flowers. 



b. Head of carpels globular: petals bright yellow, much larger than the calyx. 



12. R. fascicularis, Muhl. (EARLY CROWFOOT.) Low, pubescent 

 with close-pressed silky hairs; root a cluster of thickened fleshy fibres ; radical 

 AI//V.S appearing pinnate, the long-stalked terminal division remote from the ses- 

 sile lateral ones, itself 3 - 5-dividcd or parted and 3 - 5-cleft, the lobes oblong or 

 linear ; stems ascending ; petals spatulate-oblong, twice the length of the spread- 

 ing calyx ; carpels scarcely margined, tipped with a slender straight or rather 

 curved beak. Rocky hills. April, May. Plant 5' -9' high; the bright yel- 

 low flower 1' broad; petals rather distant, the base scarcely broader than the 

 scale, often 6 or 7. 



