50 THE BULBOUS CROWFOOT. 



and fasciculate roots, was named by Dr. Muhlenburg,* 

 Ranunculus fascicular is. 



Scientific Terms. — Achenium, Alternate. Cauline. Fascicu- 

 late. Hypogynous. Indefinite. Nectary. Oblanceolate. Obovate. 

 Perennial Herb. Pinnately divided. Radical. Reticulate. Sessile. 

 Simple fruit. Ternately divided. 



IX. THE BULBOUS CROWFOOT. 



Description. — In the month of May we begin to find 

 other Crowfoots, especially the Bulbous, adorning the mead- 

 ows and hilly pastures with their golden cups. This is a 

 neat and elegant plant, more erect and silky-haired than the 

 Early C. Indeed it is pre-eminently the true Buttercup. 

 Let us see wherein the two kinds differ, and how they may 

 be distinguished. 



Analysis. — The ^oot is fibrous, being wholly composed 

 of slender, white, branching fibers, springing together from 

 the base of the stem. There is no central axis as if the stem 

 continued downward. Such roots are inaxial. \ 



The Stem enlarges at the base into a sort of bulb, rather 

 a coryy}, which in the Autumn is round, plump and solid.]; 

 Thence it stands erect, about 1 foot high, dividing into 

 straight branches ending in flower-stalks. 



* Rev. Heniy Muhlenburg, D.D., author of a work on the Grasses, Flora Lancas- 

 triensis, and other books, was in his clay the pioneer American botanist, '' a Christian 

 philosoplier characterized by zeal and industry not more than by humility and 

 unbounded liberality of sentiment towards his contemporaries." Died A. D. 1815, 

 fet. 62. 



t This term will be better understood if we compare it with an axial root, such as 

 we find in the Clover or Yellow Dock, where the stem seems to continue downward, 

 gradually dissolving into fibers. 



X In ancient times this bulb was called " St. Anthony's Turnip." But if that pious 

 hermit ever dined on it, he must have dried it well in the sun to espel its acridity. In 

 its fresh state it is pungent and emetic— properties of which medical students some- 

 dmes make a mischievous use by persuading their companions in attendance on the 

 notanical lectures to test their excellence by tasting. The herbage also has acrid 

 properties, which prove a defence against its enemies. Cattle avpid it, so tbftt it 

 tjtsjids and blooms unmolested even in closely cropped pastures. 



