314 Yellow to Orange Flowers 



" The bright Nymphcca loves to lave, 

 And spreads her golden orbs along the dimpling wave." 



Nymphcca signifies " a water-nymph," and the botanical 

 family to which this Yellow Pond Lily belongs is called in 

 the Latin Nymphceacece, or Water-lily Family. 



MEADOW BUTTERCUP 



Ranunculus acris. Crowfoot Family 



Stems: erect, hairy, branched above, roots fibrous. Leaves: basal 

 ones tufted, petioled, three-to-seven parted, the divisions sessile and 

 cleft into numerous narrow acute lobes ; upper leaves three-parted. 

 Flowers: numerous; petals five, yellow, conspicuous. Not indigenous. 



Every child knows and loves the bright yellow flowers.of 

 the common Buttercup. Every child has sung of 



" Buttercups and daisies, 



And all the pretty flowers, 

 Growing in the sunshine 

 To tell of happy hours." 



Yet the Ranunculus acris is the enemy of the farmer. 

 Cattle will not eat of its acrid leaves, and even the hands of 

 man are frequently scarred and blistered by the caustic 

 juices contained in the stalks and leaves of this plant. High 

 up in the mountains, however, where the 



" Buds of yellow hue 

 Do paint the meadows with delight," 



we welcome these brilliant Buttercups ; there they can harm 

 no one, but only please the eye with their finely dissected 

 foliage and tall-stemed golden flowers. 



If you cut vertically through the middle of this Ranuncu- 

 lus, you will find that its receptacle is a long cone, from 

 which the five green sepals, the five yellow petals, the numer- 

 ous stamens, and the carpels all spread out successively, 



