VOL. II.] 



CROWFOOT FAMILY. 



79 



18. Ranunculus sceleratus L,. 

 Celery- leaved or Ditch Crow- 

 foot. (Fig. 1612.) 

 Ranunculus sceleratus *L,. Sp. PI. 55 1 - J 753- 



Stout, glabrous, or nearly so, 6'-2 high, 

 freely branching, stem hollow. Basal leaves 

 thick 3-5-lobed, on long and broad petioles, 

 the blade i / -2 / broad, reniform or cordate, 

 those of the stem petioled or the upper sessile, 

 deeply lobed or divided, the lobes obtuse, 

 cuneate-oblong or linear, several-toothed or 

 entire; flowers yellow, numerous, 3 // -4 // 

 broad, the petals about equalling the calyx; 

 head of fruit oblong or cylindric, 4 // -6 // 

 long; achenes l /z" long, very numerous, 

 merely apiculate. 



In swamps and wet ditches, New Brunswick 

 to Florida, abundant along the coast, and locally 

 westward to Minnesota, preferring saline or alka- 

 line situations. Also in Europe and Asia. Stem 

 sometimes i#' thick. April-Aug. 



20. Ranunculus acris L. Tall or 



Meadow Buttercup. 



(Fig. 1614.) 



Ranunculus acris L. Sp. PI. 554. 1753. 



Erect, hairy, branched above, 2-3 

 high; roots fibrous. Basal leaves tufted, 

 petioled, 3~7-divided, the divisions sessile 

 and cleft into numerous narrow mainly 

 acute lobes; upper leaves short-petioled 

 and merely 3-parted, distant; flowers nu- 

 merous, bright yellow, about i' broad; 

 petals twice or thrice the length of the 

 spreading calyx, obovate; head of fruit 

 globose, 6 // -7 // broad; achenes com- 

 pressed, short-beaked. 



In fields and meadows, common, espe- 

 cially in the Northern States and Canada. 

 Naturalized from Europe. Stem sometimes 

 nearly glabrous. May-Sept. 



19. Ranunculus recurvatus Poir. 

 Hooked Crowfoot. (Fig. 1613.) 



Ranunculus recurvatus Poir. in I<am. Encycl. 

 6: 125. 1804. 



Erect, 6'-2 high, usually hirsute, branch- 

 ing. Leaves all petioled, broadly reniform, 

 2 / ~3 / wide, deeply 3-cleft, the divisions broadly 

 cuneate, acute, toothed and lobed; flowers 

 light yellow, 4 / '-5 // broad, the petals shorter 

 than or equalling the reflcxed calyx; head of 

 fruit globose, 6" wide; achenes compressed, 

 margined, tipped with a recurved hacked beak 

 of one-half their length. 



In woods, Nova Scotia to Manitoba, south to 

 Florida and Missouri. Ascends to 4200 ft. in 

 North Carolina. April-June. 



