134 



ORDER I. RAJSUNCULACE, CROWFOOT-FAMILY. 



tubers. A delicate little plant with the habit of an Anemone, growing in woods 

 and pastures. April May. 



Sepals 5. Petals 5, with a nectariferous scale or glandular 

 spot at the base of each petal inside. Stamens indefinite. Ache- 

 nia ovate, pointed, compressed, crowded iijto heads. Per. 



1. R. Cymbalaria. 



Sea Crowfoot. 



Stem creeping, rooting at the joints ; radical leaves orbicular, on long peti- 

 oles, crenate ; scape 2' 6' high, 2 4-flowered, with a few oval, obtuse, entire 

 bracts; flowers small, bright yellow ; petals spatulate, a little longer than the 

 spreading sepals ; heads of achenia cylindrical. The smallest species here des- 

 cribed. Abundant in salt marshes. June*- July. 



2. R. abortivus. 



Stem erect, branching, very smooth ; radical leaves reniform, crenate, petio- 

 late, sometimes 8-lobed, upper ones 8 5 lobed ; lobes oblong ; flowers small, 

 yellow ; fruit in globose heads ; style very short, straight. This species grows 

 10' 18' high. Damp woods. May June. 



3. R. recurvatus. Wood Crowfoot. 



Stem erect, hairy ; leaves deeply 3-parted, segments ovate, dentate, pubes- 

 cent, pale green ; flowers rather small, greenish yellow ; petals narrow, scarcely 

 equal to the reflexed sepals ; achenia in globose heads, tipped with the minute, 

 hooked styles. Common in damp woods, and easily distinguished by its pale 

 green color, and its hooked achenia. June. 



4. R. Pennsylvanicus. Bristly Crowfoot. 



Stem erect, branching, rough, with stiff bristles, as also the petioles; leaves 

 clothed with stiff appressed hairs, ternate ; leaflets somewhat petiolate, deeply 

 8-lobed, incised ; flowers small, yellow ; sepals reflexed, longer than the petals ; 

 heads oblong, somewhat cylindrical; achenia tipped with a very short, straight 

 style. A stout, rough-hairy species, 1 3 feet high, with very small flowers. 

 Common in low grounds. June Aug. 



5. R. acris. 



Butter-cups. 



Stem erect, branching, often hollow, hairy; leaves generally pubescent, 

 deeply 8-parted ; segments deeply incised, divisions of the upper ones linear, 

 becoming smaller, and terminating in nearly entire bracts ; flowers large, of a 

 burnished golden yellow; calyx spreading; heads of achenia globose, beak 

 short, recurved. Common every where in meadows, and other damp soils, 1 

 2 feet high. June Sep. 



6. R. bulbosus. Bulbous Crowfoot. 



Hairy ; stem erect, branching, forming a bulb at base ; leaves ternate ; seg- 

 ments petiolate, deeply incised ; radical leaves petioled, upper ones sessile, and 

 becoming smaller ; flowers like the last, with furrowed peduncles and reflexed 

 sepals ; heads globose. A very common species in meadows, much resembling 

 K. acris, but easily distinguished by the bulb at the base of the stem, and the 

 reflexed calyx; 12 feet high. May June. 



7. R. fascicularis. Early Crowfoot. 



Boot fascicled ; stem branching, slender, hairy ; leaves ternately-parted, seg- 

 ments narrow, obcvate, 2-lobed, dentate ; flowers pale yellow, with a spreading, 

 villous calyx, shorter than the petals, which are wedge-obovate, with broad 

 scales at base. The earliest-flowering species. It grows 4' 10' high, in rocky 

 woods. The radical leaves appear somewhat pinnate. April May. 



8. R. repens. Creeping Crowfoot. 



Stem branching at base, stoloniferous, mostly smooth ; leaves on long peti- 

 oles, tri- foliate, segments deeply 8-lobed, generally smooth; peduncles furrowed; 

 flowers yellow ; sepals spreading ; stems 1 3 feet long, generally hairy at base, 

 with dark green leaves. Wet grounds. Common. May July. 



9. R. Purshii. 



Floating Crowfoot. 



Stem floating, submerged ; leaves dissected into capillary segments ; emersed 

 ones reniform, 8 5-lobed ; flowers large, bright yellow, about 1' above the 

 water; petals broad, about twice as long as the reflexed calyx; heads of 

 achenia globose ; styles straight. Grows in stagnant ponds and pools, and is 

 easily distinguished from the following, by its yellow flowers. June. 



10. R. aquatilis. White Water Crowfoot. 



Stem floating, submerged ; submerged leaves filiformly dissected, the 

 emersed, when present, 8-parted ; flowers rather small, dull white, about 1' out 



of water ; petals dull white, with yellow claws. A variable species, growing 

 in stagnant waters. May Aug. 



6. CALTHA. 



Sepals 5 6, resembling petals. Petals none. Ovaries 5 10. 

 Follicles 5 10, compressed, erect, many-seeded. Per. 



1. C. palustris. 



Cowslip. 



Plant very smooth ; stem erect, hollow, dichotomous ; leaves reniform, cre- 

 nate, radical ones on long petioles, those of the stem on short ones ; flowers 

 large, bright yellow, pedunculate, in somewhat umbellate clusters of 8 5; 

 sepals nearly or quite orbicular. A showy plant with very bright green foli- 

 age, In wet meadows, and much in request for greens in the spring. It is quite 

 variable in the shape of its leaves and sepals. April May. 



1. C6PTIS. 



Sepals 5 6 petaloid, deciduous. Petals 5 6. Stamens 15 

 25. Follicles 5 10, stipitate, somewhat stellately diverging, 4 

 8-seeded. Per. 



1. C. trifblia. Goldthread. 



Leaves radical, ternate ; leaflets sessile, wedge-obovate, somewhat 3-lobed, 

 crenate-mucronate, coriaceous, smooth, on petioles 1' 2' long; peduncles twice 

 as long, slender, 1-flowered, with a single, minute bract above the middle ; 

 flower white, star-like in appearance ; petals minute, yellow ; stamens white ; 

 root very slender, extensively creeping, of a golden yellow. A delicate little 

 plant, growing iu bogs, well known by its slender golden roots, from which it 

 derives its popular name. May. 



8. AQUILEGIA. 



Sepals 5, petaloid, caducous. Petals 5, tubular, extending 

 below into long, spurred nectaries. Follicles 5, erect, many- 

 seeded, tipped with the style. Per. 



1. A. Canadensis. 



Columbine. 



Stem erect, smooth, branching; lower leaves bi-ternate; leaflets on long 

 petioles, 8-lobed, rhomboidal ; flowers large, nodding, scarlet ; sepals ovate-ob- 

 long, rather longer than the petals ; petals with a yellow tube above, scarlet 

 below, each with a straight spur filled at the base with honey; stamens and 

 style essert, yellow. A much more delicate and beautiful plant than the culti- 

 vated species, growing 12 feet high, in the clefts of rocks. May. 



2. A. vulgaris. Garden Columbine. 



Stem erect, stouter than the last, branching, leafy ; leaves mostly smooth, 

 glaucous, bi-ternate ; leaflets 2 3-lobed, lobes rounded ; flowers large, varying 

 from dark purple to lilac, nodding, with incurved spurs, 12 feet high. Native 

 of Europe, cultivated in gardens. June. 



9. DELPHINIUM. 



Sepals 5, deciduous, petaloid, irregular ; the upper spurred at 

 base. Petals 4, irregular ; the 2 upper with a spur-like append- 

 age at base, inclosed in the calyx-spur. Ovaries 1 5. 



1. D. Consolida. 



Larkspur. 



Stem erect, smooth, with divaricate branches; leaves palmately divided into 

 very fine capillary segments ; flowers few, in loose racemes, generally blue, but 

 varying from light purple and blue to white, often double ; pedicels longer than 

 the bracts ; carpels smooth. Cultivated in gardens, and sparingly naturalized 

 along road-sides. July Aug. 



2. D. exaltatum. 



Tall Larkspur. 



Stem erect, glabrous below, pubescent near the summit ; leaves deeply 3 5- 

 parted, lobes cuneiform, divaricate, 3-cleft, acuminate, the lateral ones often 2- 

 lobed ; petioles not dilated at base ; racemes straight ; flowers large, of a rich 

 purplish blue. Native of the Middle States; common in cultivation. June 

 Aug. 



3. D. grandiflorum. Large-jlowered Larkspur. 



Leaves palmate, many-parted, lobes linear, distant; pedicels longer than the 

 bracts; petals shorter than the calyx: flowers large, double or single, bright 

 blue, with a tinge of purple. Cultivated. July. Per. 



4. D. elatum. Bee Larkspur. 



Stem tall, pubescent ; leaves 5-lobed, downy ; lobes wedge-shaped at base, 

 trifld, dentate; flower largo, bluish-purple, appearing at a little distance as if a 



