RANUXCULACK.f:. (CUOWFOOT FAMILY.) 37 



§ 2. Caq)el.i ven/ numerous in n drnsr hcdd, ti/i/nil irilli shorl and nearly naled styles, 



thirkli/ dollied witU nri/ loiiij and inutlnl u-ool irlirn ripe. 



♦ Low or slender plants, somewhat pubescent, alirai/s simple-stemmed, with a mostly 



sessile. 2-'3-leaved iniolucre far below thejiower. 



2. A. Carolini^na, Walt. (Cakolina xVnkmone.) Stem 3'-6' high 

 from a roiiiul tiil>tr; mot-lenvcs once or twice 3-parted or cleft; involucre 3- 

 parted, its wcdj,a'-t;hai)ctl divisions 3-(lcft ; sepals 10-20, oblong-linear, purjilc or 

 whitish; head of fruit oblong. — Illinois {O.Everett, J. W. Powell, M. S. Bebb, 

 I'J. Hall, T. J. Utile, &c.) and soiitliwurd. Ma}'. Ajjparently passes into the 

 South American A. decapctala. 



3. A. parvifldra, Michx. (Small-flowekeu a.) Stem 3'- 12' high 

 from a slender rootstock ; root-leaves 3-parted, their broadly wedge-shaped divis- 

 ions crenate-incised or lobed ; involucre 2-3-leavcd; se]xils 5 or 6, oval, white; 

 head of fruit globular. — Lake Superior, northward and westward. May, June. 

 « * Taller, commonly branching above or producing two or more peduncles: sejKils 



5-8, silLy or downy beneath (4" - 6" long), oval or oblong. 



4. A. multiflda, DC. (Many-cleft A.) Silky-hairy (6'- 12' high); 

 principal involucre 2-3-lcaved, bearing one naked and one or two 2-leaved pe- 

 duncles ; leaves of the involucre short-petioled, similar to the root-leaves, twice or 

 thrice 3-partcd and cleft, their divisions linear ; sepals 5-8, obtuse, red, sometimes 

 greenish-yellow or whitish ; head of fruit spherical or oval. — Rocks, Western Ver- 

 mont and Northern New York, Lake Superior, &c. : rare. June. 



5. A. cylindrica, Gray. (Long-fruited A.) Slender (2° high), 

 clothed with silky hairs; flowers 2-G, on very long and upright naked pcdun- 

 cles; leaves of the involucre long-pet ioled, twice or thrice as many as the flower- 

 stalks, 3-tlivided ; their divisions wedge-sliaixjd, the lateral 2-parted, the middle 

 one 3-cleft ; lobes cut and toothed at the apex ; sejxils 5, rather obtuse, greenish- 

 white; hfiid of fruit cylindrical (1' long). — Sandy or dry woods, Massachusetts 

 and Rhode Island to Illinois and northwestward. May. — Peduncles 7'- 12' 

 long, all appearing together from the same involucre, and naked throughout, 

 or sometimes ])art of them with involiicels, as in the next. 



6. A. Virginikna, L. (Viugiman A.) Hairy; principal involucre 3- 

 leaved ; the leaves long-pet ioled, 3-parted ; their divisions ovate-lanceolate, pointed, 

 cut-serrate, the lateral 2-parted, the middle 3-eleft ; peduncles elongated, the 

 earliest naked, the others with a 2-leaved involucel at the middle; sepals 5, acute, 

 greenish (in one variety white and obtuse) ; head of fruit oval or olilong. — Woods 

 and meadows; common. June- August. — Plant 2°-3° high; the upright 

 peduncles 6' -12' long. In this and the next species the first flowerstalk is 

 leafless; but from the same involucre soon proceed one or two lateral ones, 

 which arc 2-leaved at the middle ; these partial involucres in turn giving rise to 

 similar peduncles, thus producing a succession of flowers through the summer. 



§ 3. Car/i'ls frinr, the acltinia and the short slender styles merily pubescent. 



7. A. Pennsylvdnica, L. (Penxsylvaman A.) Hairy, rather low; 

 Involucres s<ssilc ; the primary ones 3-leaved, bearing a naked peduncle, and soon 

 a pair of branches or peduncles with a 2-leavcd involucre at the middle, which 

 branch similarly in turn; their leaves broadly wedge-shaped, 3-cleft, cut and 



