46 RAXUNCULACi:^. (CnOWFOOT FAMILY.) 



rarely only 2 united into one. Pistils 1-5, forming many-sccdcd pods in fruit. 



— Leaves palmately divided or cut. Flowers in tcniiinal racemes. (Name 

 from Delphiii, in allusion to the shape of the flower, which is sometimes not 

 unlike the classical ligures of the dolphin.) 



* Perennials, iiidif/i'iious ; piitils 3-5. ' ■ 



1. D. exalt^tum, Ait. (Tall LAKivSi'fR.) Leaves deeply 3-5-cleft; 

 the divisions narrow %vedgc-fonu, diverging, 3-cleft at the apex, acute ; racemes 

 waiidltke, paniclcd, muny-Jloivered ; spur straight; pods .3, erect. — \Vu:\\ soil, 

 Penn. to Michigan and southward. July. — Stem 2° -5° high. Flowers 

 purplish-blue, downy. 



2. D. trieoi'ne, INIiclix. (Dwarf L.) Leaves deeply 5-paited, their di- 

 visions unequally 3 - 5-clcft ; the lobes linear, acutish ; raceme fetv-jlowered, loose; 

 spur straightish, ascending; pods stroiuj/i/ divenjiixj. — W. Penn. to Illinois and 

 southward. April, May. — Koot a tuberous cluster. Stem simple, 6'- 12' 

 high. Flowers bright blue, sometimes white. 



3. D. aztireum, Michx. (Azlrk L.) Leaves deeply 3-.')-parted, the 

 divisions 2-3 times cleft ; the lobes all narrowly linear ; raceme strict ; spur as- 

 cending, usually curved upwards; pods erect. — Wisconsin, Illinois, and south- 

 ward. May, June. — Stem 1° - 2° high, slender, often softly pubescent. Flow- 

 ers sky-blue or whitish. 



* * Annual, introduced: pistil single. 



4. D. CoxsoLiDA, L. (Fikld L.) Leaves dissected into narrow linear 

 lobes; racemes rather few-flowered, loose; pedicels shorter than the bracts; 

 petals all comltined into one body. — Pennsylvania and Virginia, escaped from 

 grain-fields or gardens; and sparingly along roadsides farther north. (Nat. 

 from Eu.) 



15. ACONITUM, Tourn. Aconite. Monkshood. Wolfsbane. 



Sepals 5, petal-like, very irregular; the upper one (helmet) hooded or hel- 

 met-shaped, larger than the others. Petals 2 (the 3 lower wanting entirely, or 

 very minute rudiments among the stamens), consisting of small spur-shaped 

 bodies raised on long claws and concealed under the helmet. Pistils 3-5. 

 Pods several-seeded. Seed-coat usually wrinkled or scaly. — Perennials, with 

 palmately cleft or dissected leaves, and showy flowers in racemes or panicles. 

 (The ancient Greek and Latin name, said to be derived from Arone. in Bithynia.) 



1. A. unein^tum, L. (Wild Monkshood.) Glabrous ; s/rw slender, 

 erect, hut weak and disposed to climb; Irares deeply 3-5-lohid, pctioled ; the 

 lobes ovate-lanceolate, coarsely toothed ; fl'iurrs blue ; lielmH erect, ohtnselij conical, 

 compressed, slijihtly pointed or beaked in front. — Rich shady soil along streams, 

 S. W. New York, and southward along the mountains. June -Aug. 



2. A. reclin^tum, Gray. (Trailing Wolfsbane.) Glabrous ; stems 

 trailing (3° -8° lono) ; haves deejihj 3-7-clift, petioled, the lower orbicular in 

 outline; the divisions wedge-form, incised, often 2 - 3-lobcd ; .^oiWTs irhite, in 

 very loose panicles ; helmet soon horizontal, elongated-con ic(d, with a straight beak 

 in front. — Cheat IMountain, Virginia, and southward in the Alleghanics. Aug. 



— Lower leaves 5' -6' wide. Flowers 9" long, nearly glabrous. 



