HARPER'S GUIDE TO WILD FLOWERS 



variety terrestris, grows in mud, with leaves firmer, not so 

 much dissected, and with smaller flowers. 



Water Plantain Spearwort 



R. laxicaulis. — Color, deep yellow. Sepals, 5, very small. 

 Petals, small, 5 to 7. They fall easily. Stamens, indefinite. 

 Pistils, numerous, in a small, round head. Leaves, 4 to 5 inches 

 long, narrow or oblong, distantly toothed, on long, half-clasping 

 petioles. Stems, ascending, sometimes rooting from the lower 

 joints. 



A smooth plant with flowers much like buttercups. Maine 

 to Georgia and westward. In muddy places, swamps, etc. 



Low Spearwort 



R, pusUlus. — Color, pale yellow. A small, weak - stemmed 

 plant, growing from 6 to 20 inches high. Flowers, minute, with 

 yellowish petals. Leaves, small, h, inch long, roundish or heart- 

 shaped, the upper ones inclining to linear. April to September. 



This modest spearwort will escape our notice, hidden 

 under larger and more aggressive growths as it is, unless 

 we are determined to find every treasure which the marshy 

 ground contains. Near the coast, New York to Florida. 



Cursed Crowfoot. Ditch Crowfoot 



R. scelerktus. — Color, pale greenish yellow. Sepals, 5. Petals, 

 5, small, inconspicuous, not longer than the sepals. Leaves, 

 thickish; those from the root roundish, 3-lobed, with petioles; 

 those on the lower stem 3 -divided, the roundish lobes irregularly 

 cut; those above with long and narrow, uncut lobes, sessile. Stem, 

 hollow, thick, containing an acrid juice which blisters the mouth. 

 June and July. 



About 1 foot high. In wet places, as thickets and bogs. 

 Common in the Eastern States. 



Small-flowered Crowfoot 

 R. abortruus ("a little frog," referring to the aquatic habits of 

 some species). — Family, Crowfoot. Color, pale yellow. Leaves, 

 from the root, of 2 kinds, all with long petioles. Those appearing 

 first, roundish, kidney-shaped, with rounded teeth; the later 

 are 3-lobed. Stem-leaves divided mostly into threes, the di- 

 visions toothed. Sepals, 5, turned back. Petals, 5, inconspicuous, 

 shorter than the sepals. Floivcr, small, on a smooth, erect, and 

 branching stem, growing 2 feet high or less. April to June. 



It is fond of wet places near small streams. 



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