128 OCCASIONALLY FATAL. 



The plant, which blooms from June to August, is an 

 annual, one-half to two feet high. The thickish leaves 

 are three-lobed and toothed, the radical with long petioles 

 and those of the stem sessile or with shorter stalks. The 

 flower is typical of the family, with five sepals, five petals 

 of equal length, and numerous stamens and pistils, the 

 latter forming an oblong head when ripe. The flower is 

 about one quarter of an inch broad, and pale yellow. 



THE COMMON OR TALL BUTTERCUP, Ranunculus acris 

 L., is plentiful in pastures east of the prairies and is found 

 also in British Columbia. Its effects resemble those of 

 Ranunculus sceleratus but are not nearly so pronounced. 

 Animals avoid it, but naturally, in pastures where it is 

 plentiful, small amounts are sometimes eaten, and in such 

 cases it has been blamed for causing sporadic abortion 

 in cows. As in all other members of the genus, the poison 

 is volatile, and when dried in hay the plants are harmless. 



The Tall Buttercup is a perennial, somewhat hairy 

 plant, two to three feet in height and conspicuous on ac- 

 count of the abundant bright yellow flowers sometimes 

 an inch in diameter. The sepals are small, pointed, and 

 hidden by the spreading, rounded petals. The leaves are 

 three to seven-parted, and deeply lobed. The root leaves 

 are larger and more lobed than the stem leaves, and are 

 provided with long petioles. 



THE SMALL FLOWERED CROWFOOT, Ranunculus abor- 

 tive L., is acrid, and causes blistering. It is a smooth 

 plant one-half to two feet high. Its root leaves are 

 petioled, round, heart-shaped or kidney-form and ere- 



