214 



RANUNCULUS. 



double form, 8 in. to 3 ft. high. 

 Flowers, in early summer ; white, 

 sometimes few, sometimes numerous ; 

 calyx smooth. Leaves, palmately 3- or 

 5-lobed, with the partitions deeply 

 toothed; those of the stem cut into 

 narrow lance-shaped lobes; stem 

 branched. The flowers of the variety 

 with double flowers, are so neat and 

 pretty that they might almost be 

 taken at first sight for miniature 

 double white Camellia, blossoms. 

 Moist parts of valleys and woods in 



the Alps and Pyrenees. The double 



kind in borders, in deep moist and 

 free soil. The single one is best suited 

 for naturalization in grassy places. 

 Division. 



Ranunculus acris (Upright Meadow 

 Buttercup). A very common, more 

 or less hairy, native herb, with erect 

 stems, varying in height from about 

 6 in. to 2 ft. or more. Flowers, most 

 of the summer and autumn ; bright 

 yellow, large, on long terminal stalks, 

 forming a large loose panicle ; sepals 

 of a yellowish -green, concave, shorter 

 than the notched or entire petals. 

 Leaves, nearly all stalked, 3- 5- or 7- 

 parted, the lobes cut into 3 lance- 

 shaped, acute, toothed segments; 

 black or deep-purple at the points; 

 stem not very leafy, round, hollow, 



much branched at top. This plant 



is so very common in meadows and 

 pastures throughout Europe, that it 

 would not have been mentioned here 

 were it not for the beauty of its fine 

 double form, R, acris, fl.pl., which is 

 worthy of a place among the best 

 medium-sized plants in borders, and 

 grows freely in any soil. Division. 



Ranunculus alpestris (Alp Crow- 

 foot) . A pretty and diminutive species, 

 1 to 3 or 4 in. high. Flowers, in April ; 

 white ; 1 to 3 on a stem ; petals obcor- 

 date or 3-lobed ; calyx smooth. Leaves, 

 of a dark glossy green; root-leaves 

 roundish or heart-shaped, 3-lobed, 



lobes deeply crenate, blunt at the 

 apex ; stem-leaves lance-shaped, en- 

 tire. The leaves are sometimes trifid, 

 sometimes hardly trifid, and some- 

 times 3-parted. Carpathian mountain s, 

 Pyrenees, Alps of Jura. The rock- 

 garden, in moist, sandy, or gritty soil ; 

 also in choice borders, in the same 

 kind of soil, or naturalization by the 

 margins of mountain rivulets, etc., in 

 unshaded places. Division and seed. 



Ranunculus amplexicaulis (Snowy 

 Crowfoot). A very graceful and showy 

 kind, readily known by its handsome 

 undivided leaves clasping the stem ; 

 3 to 9 in. high. Flowers, in spring ; 

 white, with yellow centres, from 1 to 

 6 on each stem ; scape and peduncles 

 smooth. Leaves, ovate or lance- shaped, 

 taper pointed, glaucous, smooth, or 

 with a few deciduous hairs on the 

 edges. Hoots in bundles. Alps, Py- 

 renees, and other European mountain 

 ranges. The rock-garden and bor- 

 ders, best in moist loam, with plenty 

 of vegetable matter and sand, though 

 it thrives in ordinary garden soil ; also 

 a charming subject for naturalization 

 in moist sandy soils, amid dwarf vege- 

 tation. Division. 



Ranunculus bulbosus (Bulbous But- 

 tercup). A native British plant, 

 common in meadows, and distinguished 

 by the swollen or bulb-like base of the 

 stem; about 1 ft. high. Flowers, in 

 early summer; bright yellow, with 

 hairy reflexed calyces, and furrowed 

 peduncles. Leaves, of the root 3-lobed, 

 lobes 3-parted, stalked ; upper leaves 



cut into narrow segments. Only 



mentioned here for the sake of recom- 

 mending its double variety, (R. b. fl.pl.) 

 which is a very pretty border plant, 

 thriving in ordinary soil, and suitable 

 for association with dwarfer plants 

 than the double var. of R. acris, as it 

 seldom grows more than half a foot 

 high. Division. 



