44 RANUNCULACE^E. (CROWFOOT FAMILY.) 



R. BULB6sus, L. (BULBOUS C. or BUTTERCUPS.) Hairy; stem erect from 

 a bulb-like base, 1 high ; radical leaves 3-divided ; the lateral divisions sessile, 

 the terminal stalked and 3-parted, all wedge-shaped, cleft and toothed ; pedun- 

 cles furrowed ; petals round, wedge-shaped at base ; calyx reflexed ; carpels 

 tipped with a very short beak. Fields; very abundant only in E. New Eng- 

 land; rare westward. May- July. Leaves appearing as if pinnate. Petals 

 often 6 or 7, deep glossy yellow, the corolla more than an inch broad. (Nat. 

 from Eu.) 



It. ACRIS, L. (TALL C. or BUTTERCUPS.) Hairy; stem erect (2-3 high) ; 

 leaves 3-divided ; the divisions all sessile and 3-cleft or parted, their segments 

 cut into lanceolate or linear crowded lobes ; peduncles not furrowed ; petals 

 obovate, much longer than the spreading calyx. Fields; common, especially 

 eastward. June - Aug. Flower nearly as large as the last, but not so deep 

 yellow. The Buttercups are avoided by cattle, on account of their very acrid 

 or even blistering juice, which property* however, is dissipated in drying when 

 these plants are cut with hay. (Nat. from Eu.) 



* * Achenes beset with rough points or small prickles ; annuals. 



JR. MURICATUS, L. Nearly glabrous ; lower leaves roundish or reniform, 

 3-lobed, coarsely crenate ; the upper 3-cleft, wedge-form at the base ; petals 

 longer than the calyx; carpels fiat, spin ij -tuber cufate on the sides, strongly 

 beaked, surrounded with a wide and sharp smooth margin. Eastern Vir- 

 ginia and southward. (Nat. from Eu.) 



R. PARViFL6Ri;s, L. Hairy, slender and diffuse ; lower leaves roundish- 

 cordate, 3-cleft, coarsely toothed or cut ; the upper 3 - 5-parted ; petals not 

 longer than the calt/x; carpels minutely hispid and rough, beaked, narrowly 

 margined. Norfolk, Va., and southward. (Nat. from Eu.) 



10. ISOPYRUM, L. 



Sepals 5, petal-like, deciduous. Petals 5, minute, wanting in the American 

 species. Stamens 10-40. Pistils 3-6 or more, pointed witli the styles. Pods 

 ovate or oblong, 2 -several-seeded. Slender smooth perennial herbs, with 

 2-3-ternately compound leaves; the leaflets 2 -3-lobed. Flowers axillary and 

 terminal, white. (From Icroirvpov, the ancient name of a Fumaria.) 



1. I. bitern&tum, Torr. & Gray. Petals none; filaments white, club- 

 shaped; pistils 3-6 (commonly 4), divaricate in fruit, 2-3-seeded; seeds 

 smooth. Moist shady places, Ohio to Minn, and southward. May. Fibres 

 of the root thickened here and there into little tubers. Aspect and size of the 

 plant much as in Anemonella. 



11. C ALT HA, L. MARSH MARIGOLD. 



Sepals 5-9, petal-like. Petals none. Pistils 5-10, with scarcely any styles. 

 Pods (follicles) compressed, spreading, many-seeded. Glabrous perennials, 

 with round and heart-shaped or kidney-form, large, undivided leaves. (An 

 ancient Latin name for the common Marigold.) 



1. C. pallistris, L. Stem hollow, furrowed; leaves round or kidney- 

 shaped, either crenate or dentate or nearly entire ; sepals broadly oval (bright 

 yellow). Swamps and wet meadows, common northward. April, May. 

 Often called incorrectly Cowslips ; used as a pot-herb in spring, when coming 

 into flower. C. FLABELLIFOLIA, Pursh, is a weak slender form, with open- 

 rcniform leaves and smaller flowers (V broad or less), occurring in cold moun- 

 tain springs, N. Y. to Md. (Eu.) 



