22 



not, for we know that the colored sepals of Clematis never 

 were stamens ! If we compare Clematis with Ranunculus 

 we find that the former in the absence of true petals is cer- 

 tainly more primitive, or at least more simple, than the 

 Buttercup, which is a complete flower, being furnished with 

 both whorls of floral envelopes, and the thick, glossy petals 

 still farther advanced by the presence of scale-like necta- 

 ries at their base. 



A little more developed than Clematis, are Anemone p((tens 

 (Pulsatilla), and Atragene, both of which make a feeble but 

 vain attempt to produce petals by their "gland-like, abortive 

 stamens answering to petals," and by "enlarged filaments 

 more or less petaloid." 



Still higher perhaps in the scale of development is (Jiuii- 

 oifuga, which actually has a few diminutive petals, which 

 with the numerous stamens are white ! 



We might allude to the frail, purple-flowered Anemone 

 nemorosa as another blossom much simpler than Buttercup, 

 and also refer to the fact that of this genus A. Robinson- 

 iana, A. apennina, A. blanda, are of a sky-blue color! 

 But we are not obliged to go out of the Ranunculus genus 

 itself to find real Buttercups having white, red, or scarlet 

 flowers as well as those of a yellow color. 



R. Andersonii, Great Salt Lake vicinity, is i)ink I 



R. Asiaticus has yellow petals with reddish tips, stamens 

 with the anthers and the [)istils brown ! 



R. Asiaticus var. d'Olanda, a cultivated variety, is a 

 magnificent double scarlet flower as large as a double 

 Dahlia ! Some of these flowers show a little yellow 

 at l)ase of the petals, thus proving that the color was 

 formed directly from yellow by the addition of red. 



R. Anemonoides is white tinted with i)ink ! 



R. Li/alli is pure white, stamens yellow 1 



There are varieties of R. Asiaticus which are purple ! 

 yellow, orange, and variegated white, yellow or red; thus 

 all colors except l)lue are already found among Buttercups 



