WEEDS AND USEFUL PLANTS. 



1. R. bulbo'sus, L. Hairy ; radical 

 leaves petiolate, trifoliolate and some- 

 what pinnately divided ; leaflets usu- 

 ally 3-cleft, incisely toothed, the mid- 

 dle or terminal one petiolulate ; stem 

 erect, from a solid bulb-like base ; 

 peduncles furrowed ; calyx reflexed, 

 shorter than the petals. 

 BULBOUS RANUNCULUS. Buttercups. 

 Crowfoot. 



FT. Bassinet. Germ. Knolliger Ran- 

 unkel. Span. Boton de Oro. 



Root perennial. Stem about a foot high, 

 often several from the same root, more or 

 less branched, clothed with appressed hairs. 

 Leaves variously cut, the segments cuneate. 

 Peduncles 2-6 inches long, sulcate-angular. 

 Petals sometimes more than 5 (flowers double), 

 deep yellow and shining. Carpels in a. globose 

 head. 



Pastures and meadows : introduced. Native 

 of Europe. Fl. May. Fr. July. 



Obs. This foreigner is extensively 

 naturalized, and is considered quite a 

 nuisance by farmers. The fleshy bulb 

 is highly acrid, affording a powerful 

 rubefacient, and even causing ulcers 

 when externally applied. Beggars 

 in Europe, it is said, use it for this 

 purpose, in order to excite sympathy. I do not know that cattle have 

 been injured by it, but as it is a troublesome weed, when fully intro- 

 duced, it may be well for farmers to know the plant, and eradicate it 

 upon its first appearance in their grounds. 



2. R. a'cris, L. Hairy ; stem erect, not bulbous at base ; leaves 3-divid- 

 ed, divisions all sessile and 3-parted, their segments cut into lanceolate 

 or linear lobes ; peduncles not furrowed ; calyx spreading. 

 ACRID RANUNCULUS. Tall Crowfoot. Buttercups. 



Perennial. Stem 1-2 feet high, branched above, sparingly leafy, and with the petioles 

 clothed with spreading hairs, but sometimes nearly smooth. Flowers nearly as large, but 

 not so deep yellow, as in the preceding. 



Meadows and pastures. Native of Europe. June - Aug. 



Obs. Like the foregoing, this is an introduced weed ; it is common 

 in New England and in New York State, though, according to Dr. Dar- 

 lington, it has not become abundant in Pennsylvania. Both species 



Fio. 1. Bulbous Crowfoot, or Buttercups (Ranunculus bulbosus), the upper an I lower 

 portions of the stem. 2. A separate petal, with a scale at the base. 



