42 RANUNCULACE^. (CROAVFOOT FAMILY.) 



rather fleshy, lonp;-petioled ; petals 5 - 8 ; carpels striate on the sides. — Sandy 

 shores, from New Jersey northward, and along the Great Lakes to Illinois and 

 westward : also at salt ^jmn-fs. June- Aug. 



M- ^- -t- -1- Teirestriul, but o/ien in wet pldccs : root perennial : some or all of the 



letires cleft or dividtd. 



++ Root-leaves not divided to the vtri/ hase. 



9. R. I'llOmboideuS, Goldie. Dwarf, hairij ; root-leaves roundish or 



rhovibic-ovate., rarely suhcordate, toothed or crenatc ; lowest stem-leaves similar 



or 3 - 5-lobe(l ; the upper 3 - 5-parted, almost sessile, the lobes linear ; carpels 



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



(Also R. brevicaulis & ovalis, Hook.) — Prairies, Michigan to Illinois and 



northward. April, May. — Stems 3'- 6' high, sometimes not longer than the 



root-leaves. Flower deep yellow, as large as in No. 14. 



10. R, abortivus, L. (Small-floweked C.) Glabrous and very 

 s/nooth ; primary root-leaves round heart-shaped or kidney-form, barely crenate, 

 the succeeding ones often 3-lobcd 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 ylobuktr head, mucronute icith a minute curved 

 beak ; petals shorter than the reflex/ d calyx. — Shady hillsides and along brooks, 

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

 the pale yellow flowers very small in proportion. 



Var. mieranthus. Pubescent ; root-leaves seldom at all heart-shaped, 

 some of them 3-parted or 3-divided ; divisions of the upper stem-leaves more 

 linear and entire; peduncles more slender. (R. micrantiius, iV«/<.) — Massa- 

 chusetts (near Boston, C. J. Sprcigue), Michigan, Illinois, and westward. 



11. R. sceleratus, L. (Cursed C.) Smooth and glabrous ; root-leaves 

 3-l'jbed, rounded ; lower stem-leaves 3-parted, the lobes obtusely cut and toothed, 

 the uppermost almost sessile, with the lobes oblong-linear and nearly 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 and 

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



12. R. recurvatUS, Poir. (Hooked C.) Hirsute ; leaves of the root and 

 stem nearly alike, long-petioh'd, d<eply 3-clef}, large ; the lobes broadly wedge- 

 shaped, 2 - 3-cleft, cut and toothed towards the apex ; carpels in a globular head, 

 flat and margined, conspicuously beaked by the long and recurved hooked styles; 

 }>etals shorter than the reflexed calyx, pale. — Woods, common. May, June. — 

 Stem 10-2° high. 



++ ++ .1// the leaves ternately divided to the very base, or compound, and the divisions 



cleft or cut: acheniaflat. 



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



13. R. Pennsylvanieus, L. (Brlstly C.) Hirsute with rough 

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

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

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

 A coarse plant, 2° -3° high, with inconspicuous flowers. 



