124 A GUIDE TO THE WILD FLOWERS 



353. Creeping Buttercup. Ranunculus rcpcns. A sprawling 

 weak Buttercup, with all its leaves cut or divided and often 

 rooting at the joints. Divisions of the leaf, or sometimes only 

 the terminal one, stalked. Flowers about i in. wide. Common 

 in fields and roadsides, or in meadows. Newfoundland to 

 Virginia, and westward. June. 



354. Meadow Buttercup. Ranunculus acris. The tallest of 

 our buttercups, often reaching 2^ ft. high. Leaves much 

 cut, the leaf-stalks and branches hairy. Roots fibrous. Flowers 

 about I in. wide. In meadows or fields. Newfoundland to 

 Virginia, and westward. Native of Europe. May-Sept. Fig. 



354. 



355. Bulbous Buttercup. Ranunculus bulhosus. Similar to 

 No. 354, but shorter, and with a bulbous-thickened root. In 

 similar situations from New England to No. Carolina, and 

 westward. May. 



356. Marsh Buttercup. Ranunculus scptcntrionalis. An 

 erect or weak Buttercup, sometimes rooting at the joints, 

 with 3-divided leaves, the divisions mostly long-stalked. 

 Flowers about ^4 i^^- wide, or slightly more. Fruit con- 

 spicuously long-beaked. May. In swamps or meadows. New 

 Brunswick to Georgia, and westward. Fig. 356. 



357. Rough Buttercup. Ranunculus rccurvatiis. A hairy 

 Buttercup, with 3-lobed leaves, that are otherwise scarcely 

 divided, but toothed all around. Flowers small, pale yellow, 

 scarcely over yi in. wide. The beak of the fruit is recurved, 

 hence its Latin name. Moist woods. Nova Scotia to Florida, 

 and westward. May. 



358. Hairy Buttercup. Ranunculus hispidus. A densely 

 hairy plant when young, less so later in the season. Leaves 

 3-divided, the middle segment prominently stalked, none of 

 them much cut or divided. Flowers about i in. wide. Beak 

 of the fruit straight. In woods and thickets. Ontario to 

 Georgia, and westward. April. Fig. 358. 



359. ROSE FAMILY. ROSACEAE. 



A large family of trees, shrubs, or herbs, with alternate 

 leaves, which in the following are compound. Flowers soli- 



