26 WEEDS AND USEFUL PLANTS. 
Orper I. RANUNOULA’CEZ. (Crowroor Famzy.) 
Herbs, or woody vines, with a colorless and often acrid juice, and usually d dissected leaves, 
without stipules ; petals s sometimes wanting, and the calyx, srear is often recht like a 
reir hypogynous ; ~ sepals, petals, numerous stamens . oo 
gle) pists, all distinct and unconne cted.. Fruit saad ary ps, akenes. pe r berries 1 
pict al-seeded ; seeds with a firm, fleshy albumen, and a minute 
P aby. 
il acrid as to produce Dlistering ; 
a Braces in most is; erie. pn sha by so) and in many it is lost in drying. 
Many of the plants wre = g to the order are cultivated for a ad an the Colum- 
i &c. Some, as 
poisonous, while rates like Coptis, are simple bit bitter ‘chien, 
jare eminently 
1. Petals none. Sepals a and petal-like. Pistils rte 1 becoming akenes in fru't. 
ipper leayes sometimes forming an involucre near the flow: 
Akenes several, not ribbed ; three upper sinzple leaves eee a 
calyx-like involucre near the flower. Radical leaves 3-lobed. 
Akenes rey ribbed. Inyoluere none, Leaves 3-4 times com- 
- pound, ; 
1, Heratica. 
2. THALICTRUM. 
93 Sepals and petals present, the latter with a small scale at the base : 
Akenes in a head. 
> Sepals petal-like. Petals, when present, small and irregular. , Pis- 
forming several seeded pods, or follicles. 
Flower r. 
Potals n vk Sepals yellow. Leaves kidney-shaped. 
Petals small, ae ieee atthe apex. Sepals whitish. 
Pistils stalked. 
Flower irregular. 
Upper sepal spurred. eae 4, of two forms. 
Upper sepal hooded, tals 2, long-clawed. 
Tock pry orgs a ap offas the flower opens. ce small, 2- 
Flowers in a long raceme. 
1. HEPAT'ICA. Dillen. LavERLEar. 
{Greek, Fear, the liver. fro 
3. RanunouLus. 
gh a aR a a eh ae a a ec aa eae ee eee NE ee 
