58 



liANUNCULACE^. 



is often entirely diHsipatrd in the process of (Irving. Occasionally, as in 

 aconite, the active principle is stored up more abundantly and permanently 

 in a tuberous root. 



Though the ranunculacejc ai'e represented in the United States by a 

 comparatively large number of genera and species, few of these have as yet 

 been found worth}'^ a place in the Pharmacopcoia. Doubtless fuither care- 

 ful investigation in this tield may yield important results. 



CLEMATIS. — ViKGiis'ti-BowER. 



Char zr of the Genu^'. — Calyx : sejials 4, rarely more, colored, pctaloid, 

 the val\..te margins turned inwai-d in the bud. Corolla none, or, if 

 present, the petals small. Stamens indefinite in iiundK'r, distinct. Ova- 

 ries numerous, distinct. Acheuia in a head bearing the persistent styles 

 as naked, hairy, or plumose tails. 



Pex'ennial, herbaceous or slightly Avoody plants, generally climbing by 

 means of their leaf-stalks ; occasionally low and erect. Leaves opposite. 

 Clematis Viorna Linne.' — Lculhcr-F/ower. 



Lh'Hcripiion. — Cah'x ovate, at length bell-shaped, the purjilish sepals 



very thick and leatheiy, tipped with 

 short recurved points. Corolla wanting. 

 The long tails of the fruit very plumose. 

 An herbaceous climber. Leaves 

 l)innate ; leaflets 3 to 7, ovate or oblong, 

 soujetimes slightly cordate, 2- to 3-lobed 

 or entire ; the uppermost often simple. 

 Peduncles bearing single, large, nod- 

 ding flowers, which appear from May to 

 August. 



JlabihU. — 1\\ rich soil from Pennsyl- 

 vania to Ohio and southward. 



Clematis VirginianaLinne. — Com- 

 mon Vi7'gin\s-Boivnr. 



I)esc7'ij}lk»i. — Flowers polygamo-di- 

 oecious. Cnlvx: sepals small, obovate^ 

 spreading, white. Corolla wanting. Fruit 

 with conspicuous feathery tails. An her- 

 baceous perennial. Stem crlimbing and 

 running freely over shrubs, fences, etc. Leaves ternate ; leaflets ovate, 

 acute, cut or lobed, somewhat cordate at the base. Flowers in axillary 

 panicled clusters, appearing in August. 



Habitat.— On the alluvial banks of streams and along fences; common 

 from Canada to Florida. 



''^^s!^, 



Pio. 9f).— CloniatiK Virginiana. 





