246 



BOTANY FOR BEGINNERS 



CHAP. 



DESCRIPTION OF NATURAL ORDERS. 



Sub-Kingdom , 

 Division . . 

 Class . . . 

 Sub- Class . 



PHANEROGAMS. 

 ANGIOSPERMS. 

 DICOTYLEDONS. 

 Thalamiflorae. 



Natural Order ; Ranunculaceae (Buttercup Family). 

 The plants belonging to this natural order are usually medium- 

 sized herbs. The leaves are radical or cauline ; if the latter they 

 are alternate. The flowers are showy and actinomorphic. The 

 stamens are indefinite and hypogynous. The pistil is apocarpous. 

 The fruits consist of one-seeded achenes (p. 228), or many 

 seeded follicles (p. 230). 



Floral formula. K 5, C 5, A oo, G i to oo. 



Description of a Typical Buttercup (Ranunculus 

 Acris], 



Habit. A hairy perennial plant with erect stem and straight 

 rootstock. It grows in meadows, and flowers from April to 

 September. 



FIG. 237. Hypogynous flower of Ranunculus, with numerous superior carpels on 

 the receptacle. (Magnified.) (S.) 



Root. A branched tap-root. 



Stem. Herbaceous, erect, round, hollow, hairy, green. 



Leaves. Both radical and cauline ; cauline leaves alternate, 

 simple ; lower leaves deeply divided ; upper, narrow and not 

 divided ; a well developed sheath present, reticulate-veined, 

 hairy, exstipulate. 



Inflorescence. Definite ; the axis ends in a flower. 



Flower. Complete, actinomorphic, about three quarters of 

 an inch in diameter, yellow. 



