710 457. Actsea. 85. RANUNCULACE^. VI ex. thai 



A. Ranunculace^ spurije. Anthers opening on the 

 inner side. 



I. 457. ACTiEA. Pliny. Herl-Christopher, 

 Calyx 4-sepaled; deciduous; corolla 4-petaled; stamens 



indefinite; anthers fastened inwardly; ovary 1, ovate; 

 stigma capitate, sessile; per'icarpium (berry) fleshy, not 

 opening ; seeds many, horizontal, in 2 series. — Herb peren- 

 nial ; leaves petioled, simple, lobed and variously cut ; 

 flowers racemose ; peduncle bracteated ; sepales and petals 

 very deciduous. 



Actea spicata. Spiked herb- Christopher. 



Berry nearly globular ; petals as long as the stamens ; 

 racemes ovate ; leaves bi-ternately or tri-ternately cut ; lobes 

 ovate, lanceolate, serrated or slightly cut. 



Chiistophoriana, Rail Syn. 262 ; G.t. em. 979. 

 Christophoriana vulgaris. Park. '3T9. 

 Ac(a?a spicata, fJn. S. P. 722. 

 Christophoriana spicata, Mcench Meth, 279. 

 Baneberries. 



Alpine woods on limestone; perennial; May and June. 



Root fibrous ; leaves bald ; bractece oblong ; flowers race- 

 mose ; berries black. — Root useful in nervous diseases; 

 herb repellent; berries very active, poisonous. 



II. 458. P.EONIA. Theophrastus. Tiony. 

 Calyx 5-sepaled ; sepales leaflike, unequal, orbicular, 



persistent; petals 5 to 10, orbicular, neai'ly equal, not 

 clawed; stamens indefinite; anthers fastened outwardly; 

 ovaries 2 to 5, girt by a fleshy disk; stigmata sessile, two- 

 iamellar ; camares 2 to 5, ovate, 1 -celled, many-seeded ; 

 seeds shining, nearly globular; corculum basillary. — Root 

 perennial ; crown horizontal, thick ; fibres fasciculate, 

 thickened or tuberculated ; sheaths scaly, at the bottom of 

 the stem ; leaves alternate, twice ternate; flowers terminal. 



1. PcBonia corallina. Coral piony. 



Stem herbaceous; camares woolly, bent back from the 

 bottom; leaves 2-ternate; lobes ovate, not cut, bald. 



Paionia inas, Raii Syn. Ind. pi. tliib.; Ger. em. 980, 1 ; Park. 1381. 

 Paeonia officinalis masciila, Lin. S. P. 747 IS. 

 Pajonia foemina, Miller Did. 

 Paeonia corallina, Relz Observ, 354. 

 Malt piony. Male pcionie. 



