44 RANUNCULACEiE. (CROWFOOT FAMILY.) 



7. MYOStTRUS, Dill. Mouse-tail. 



Sepals 5, spurred at tlie base. Petals 5, small and narrow, raised on a slen- 

 der claw, at the summit of which is a nectariferous hollow. Stamens 5-20. 

 Achenia numerous, somewhat 3-sided, crowded on a very long and slender 

 spike-like receptacle (whence the name, from /x£s, a moiwe, and ovpd, a tail), 

 the seed suspended. — Little annuals, with tufted narrowly linear-spatulatc 

 root-leaves, and naked 1-flowered scapes. Flowers small, greenish. 



1. M. minimus, L. Carpels blunt. — Alluvial ground, Illinois and 

 Kentucky, thence south and west; apparently indigenous. (Eu.) 



8. ISOPYRUM, L. (ExEMioN, Raf.) 



Sepals 5, petal-like, deciduous. Petals 5, minute, wanting in the American 

 species. Stamens 10-40. Pistils 3-6 or more, pointed with the styles. Pods 

 ovate or oblong, 2 - several-seeded. — Slender smooth herbs, with 2 - 3-ternately 

 compound leaves; the leaflets 2-3-lobed. Flowers axillary and terminal, 

 white. (Name fi-om 'tcros, equal, and nvpos, loheat; of no obvious application.) 



1. I. biternatum, Torr. & Gray. Petals none; pistils 3-6 (commonly 

 4), divaricate in fruit, 2-3-seeded; seeds even. H. — Moist shady places, Ohio 

 to Illinois, Kentucky, and westward. May. — Fibres of the root thickened here 

 and there into little tubers. Aspect and size of the plant much as in Thalictrum 

 aucmouoides. 



9. CALTHA, L. Marsh Marigold. 



Sepals 5-9, petal-like. Petals none. Pistils 5-10, with scarcely any styles. 

 Pods (follicles) compressed, spreading, many-seeded. Glabrous perennials, 

 with round and heart-shaped or kidney-form, large, undivided leaves. (Name 

 from KaXa^oy, a rjohlet, in allusion to the golden flower-cup or calyx.) 



1. C. pallistris, L. (Marsh Marigold.) Stem hollow, furrowed; 

 leaves round or kidney- shaped, either crenate or nearly entire ; sepals bi-oadly 

 oval (bright yellow). — Swamps and wet meadows, common northward. April, 

 May. — This well-known plant is used as a pot-herb in spring, when coming 

 into flower, under the name of Cowslips ; but the Cowslip is a totally dif- 

 ferent plant, namely, a species of Primrose. The Caltha should bear with us, 

 as in England, the popular name of Marsh Mari<jold. (Eu.) 



10. TROLLITJS, L. Globe-flower. 



Sepals 5-15, petal-like. Petals numerous, small, 1-lipped, the concavity 

 near the liase. Stamens and pistils numerous. Pods 9 or more, sessile, many- 

 seeded. — Smooth perennials with palmately parted and cut leaves, like Ra- 

 nunculus, and large solitary terminal flowers. (Name thought to be derived 

 from the old German word troll, a globe, or something round.) 



1. T. l^XUS, Salisl). (Spreading Glohe-flower.) Sepals 5-6, 

 spreading; petals 15-25, inconspicuous, much shorter than the stamens. — 

 Deep swamps, New Hampshire to Delaware and Michigan. May. — Flowers 

 twice the size of the common Buttercup ; the sepals spreading, -so that the 



