Chapter II. 



THE RANUNCULUS FAMILY. 



The number of different species of flowering plants upon 

 the earth is very great indeed, but a careful examination 

 of all the different forms shows us they can be grouped 

 into a few natural families. A family should consist only 

 of plants showing such a likeness of general features that 

 we consider they are related one to another; that is, that 

 they are probably descended from a common ancestor. 

 A like appearance of some parts is not sufficient, as, for 

 instance, the same shaped leaves or similar fruits. No 

 doubt, even in the present day we have not yet succeeded 

 in perfecting this natural grouping, but we are steadily 

 progressing. This grouping of plants according to general 

 character has only one inconvenience : it makes it diffi- 

 cult to the young student. Classification was much easier 

 when it was arranged according to apparent characters, 

 for instance, upon the number of stamens in the flower. 

 As our object is to ascertain truth, convenience has to a 

 large extent to be left out of consideration. A result of 

 natural grouping is that plants which at first sight appear 

 very different, as Buttercup and Clematis, or a Bean and 

 a Wattle, are brought together, while similar looking 

 plants, as Buttercup and Potentil, are kept far apart. No 

 hard and fast rule can be laid down, though the structure 

 of the flower and seed can be most relied upon. 



When we wish to talk about any particular family we 

 generally give it the name of one of its commonest mem- 

 bers, as the Ranunculaceae. The peculiar termination of 

 such a word is meant to indicate that we refer to a family 

 and not a genus. Rosaceae means the family of which Rose 

 is the type; Myrtaceae, the Myrtle family; Leguminosse, 

 the legume -bearing family; and so on. 



The Ranunculus family, of which Buttercup and Clema- 

 tis are our commonest forms, bear simple or primitive 

 flowers, which will form a base to enable us to under- 

 stand the more complex forms. We have only a few species 

 of Buttercup, but they are fairly common, and some of 

 them may be found in flower in most seasons. They are 

 all small herbs with yellow or nearly white flowers, with, 

 in rare instances, tendency to red. Neither the fact 

 that they are herbs, nor that the flowers are generally 



