PLANTS. 383 



stem leaves simply pinnate. Flowers numerous, yellow- 

 ish-red, umbelliferous, oblong. Fruit fleshy, globular, 

 and greenish. Swamp Parsley is found everywhere in 

 Europe as a marsh perennial ; grows in swamps or stag- 

 nant waters. A coarse plant and very poisonous, the 

 root particularly. 



Wafer Hemlock or Spotted Cowbane (Cicuta macu- 

 lata), found in the swampa of the northern states, and 

 called Musquash Root or Beaver Poison, is a coarse 

 plant with white flowers ; very common. Root a deadly 

 poison. 



The Ranunculus or Cursed Crow Foot (Ranunculus 

 scelerata) are coarse, creeping plants, with a knotty 

 stem and yellow flowers, often called Butter Cups. 

 Found either in wet places or neglected pasture fields, 

 which they injure by spreading over the ground, and, 

 like strawberry vines, rooting at the joints. It is there- 

 fore a diificult matter to eradicate them. All the ranun- 

 culus (a large family, mostly of acrid plants) contain a 

 poisonous juice, the operative element of which is fugi- 

 tive and thrown off in boiling ; therefore, as they are 

 seldom eaten without being cooked, cases of persons 

 being injured by them are extremely rare. They are 

 almost universally poisonous to sheep, and the species 

 we have just been describing, is particularly so. The 

 stem of the Ranunculus sselerata is one foot high, rigid 

 and many-leaved. Leaves three-lobed ; flowers small 

 and pale-yellow ; juice blistering ; is an acrid narcotic 

 poison. Found also in America in marshy grounds. ZC . 



The Hog Mushroom (Boletus luridus). Stem fleshy, 

 rather swelled at the base ; hood or umbrella vaulted 

 and cushion-like, leathery, and of various colors, whitish 

 or pale-yellow, grayish -green, olive, brown or bright red. 



