RANUNCULACEAE 



CROWFOOT FAMILV 



SMALL-FLOWERED CROWFOOT 



Ranunculus ahortivus L. 



Of all the many common Buttercups the Small-flowered 

 Crowfoot is the most weedlike because its small flowers make it 

 much less conspicuous and less handsome than most of the 

 others. It is widely dis- 

 tributed, being found in 

 woods and other moist 

 places from Labrador and 

 Nova Scotia to Manitoba, 

 southward to Florida, Ar- 

 kansas and Colorado. It is 

 a biennial and blooms in 

 April, May and June. 



The stem is slightly 

 fleshy and grows 6-24 inches 

 high. It usually has numer- 

 ous branches and may be 

 entirely smooth or covered 

 with short scattered hairs. 

 The basal leaves have long 

 petioles and are round- 

 heart shaped or kidney 

 form. Those on the stem and branches are 

 sessile or nearly so and often divided 

 nearly to the base into yS parts. 



The green sepals, mostly 5, are reflexed 

 downward and the 5 yellow petals are 

 shorter than the calyx. Stamens and pistils 



are numerous. The styles are extremely short. The fruits are 

 akenes, each with a short curved beak. There is a minute nectar 

 pit and a scale at the base of each petal, and on this account the 

 flowers are visited and pollinated by several kinds of insects. 



The Hooked Crowfoot, Ranunculus recurvatus Poir., is another 

 small-flowered species common in woods. The stems are hairy and 

 the leaves are all 3-lobed and toothed. The beaks of the fruits are 

 long and curved into hooks. The root leaves of this species are rarely 

 divided. The plant occurs from Nova Scotia to Manitoba and south 

 to Florida and Kansas. It flowers in May and June. 



97 



