c,. II.] 

 ^4. Ranunculus repens L,. 



CROWFOOT FAMILY 



ing Buttercup. 



Creep- 

 (Fig. 1618.) 



Ranunculus repens 1,. Sp. PI. 554. 1753. 



Generally hairy, sometimes only slightly 

 so, spreading by runners and forming large 

 patches. Leaves petioled, 3-divided, the ter- 

 minal division, or all three stalked, all ovate, 

 cuneate or truncate, acute, cleft and lobed, 

 often blotched; flowers nearly i' broad; petals 

 obovate, much exceeding the spreading 

 sepals; head of fruit globose, 4" in diameter; 

 achenes margined, tipped with a stout short 

 slightly bent beak. 



Fields and roadsides, frequent from Nova 

 Scotia to Virginia and locally in the interior. 

 Mainly introduced from Europe; possibly indi- 

 genous in some districts. May-July. 



25. Ranunculus septentrionalis Poir. 

 Swamp or Marsh Buttercup. (Fig. 1619. ) 



Ranunculus septenlrionalis Poir. in Lam. Encycl. 6: 

 125. 1804. 



Roots simply fibrous; plant branching, i-3 

 high, glabrous, or sometimes pubescent, the later 

 branches procumbent and sometimes rooting at the 

 nodes. Leaves large, petioled, 3-divided; divisions 

 mostly cuneate at the base, cleft into broad 

 lobes; lower petioles occasionally a foot long; flow- 

 ers i' in diameter or more, bright yellow; petals 

 obovate, twice the length of the spreading sepals; 

 head of fruit globose or oval, 4" in diameter; 

 achenes flat, strongly margined, subulate-beaked 

 by the stout sword-shaped style which is of 

 nearly their length and often early deciduous. 



Mainly in swamps and low grounds, New Brunswick 

 to Manitoba, south to Georgia and Kentucky. April- 

 July- 



26. Ranunculus hispidus Michx. 

 Hispid Buttercup. (Fig. 1620.) 



J?. his/>tdus Michx. Fl. Bor. Am. i: 321. 1803. 



Densely villous when young, sometimes 

 merely appressed-pubescent or glabrate when 

 old; stems ascending or spreading, 8 7 -2 long; 

 plant not stoloniferous; roots a cluster of thick- 

 ened fibres. Leaves pinnately 3~5-divided, the 

 divisions ovate, oblong or obovate, narrowed or 

 cuneate at the base, sharply cleft or lobed, 

 usually thin; flowers 6 // -i8 // broad; petals 

 about twice as long as the spreading sepals; 

 head of fruit globose-oval or globose; achenes 

 broadly oval, lenticular, narrowly margined, 

 abruptly tipped by a subulate style of about 

 one-half their length. 



1 In dry woods and thickets, Ontario to the North- 

 west Territory, south to Georgia and Arkansas. 

 The earliest flowering Buttercup of the vicinity of 

 New York. Ascends to 6000 ft. in North Carolina. 

 March-May. 



