xii familiah gardex flowers. 



PRIMULA.— See "Polyanthus." p. 11, 



GERANIUM.— See under " Pelargonium." p. 81. 



AVBNS.— See under " Geum." p. 85. 



RANUJ3"CUIjUS, from nuia, a frog, the plants that give a general 

 name to this order being found in meadows and marshes, as is. the case with 

 our common buttercup. — They are familiarly known as crowfootsy but this is 

 a subtle designation, no resemblance to the foot of a crow being traceable in 

 either leaves or flowers. It happens, however, that Dioscorides named a 

 plant the coronopus or crow's foot, and this has been identified as the ranun- 

 culus, bnt-why and how we confess we cannot say, unless it be that the 

 leaves of the marsh and meadow species are occasionally stained with blackish 

 patches that fancy may convert into footprints. The plants of this order are 

 mostly herbaceous, the leaves are usually much divided, and the leaf-stalk 

 in some degree clasps the stem. Although the flowers vary to an immense 

 extent in form and colour, they are generally conspicuous and beautiful ; 

 even our common buttercup is one of the loveliest of flowers, and the helle- 

 bore, clematis, anemone, and delphinium illustrate the floral importance of 

 the family. This is a poisonous family, with watery juices, the leading 

 characteristics being causticity and acridity.' One species of buttercup is 

 named Raniinciihis acris on account of the acrid property of its watery juice. 

 The common monkshood {Aconitnm napellus) is much to be feared as a 

 poisonous plant, because its roots have often been served as horse-radish 

 and have proved fatal to those who have eaten them. This plant, indeed, 

 should be excluded from gardens, notwithstanding that it is a noble 

 adornment of the shrubbery border. It is interesting to find in a family so 

 notorious for their noxious properties an agreeable and wholesome fruit called 

 the May-apple or wild lemon, the produce of Podophyllidn peltatttm, but 

 all other parts of this plant are poisonous, and the root is well known in 

 medicine. p. 89. 



COEONIIiLA, iromcorona, a crown or garland. N.O., Leguminosm 

 or Fabaccm. Linn^an : 17, Diadelph'ia ; 4, J)cca)idna. — The immense order 

 of fabaceous plants, fonnerly known as the Papilionacese, or butterfly 

 flowers, is of great importance in all the ways in which plants " come home 

 to us." They supply many kinds of food and medicine, materials for the 

 manufacturer, fine features in scenery, and gay flowers in the garden. When 

 the bees "hum about globes of clover and sweet peas" they tell us in glad 

 language that the butterfly flowers are prolific of honey, and they show how 

 perseverance overcomes obstacles, for if the bees cannot force theii* way into 

 the flowers they gnaw holes in them and thus secure the sweet booty. There 

 are about 467 genera and 6,600 species of papilionaceous plants, and they 

 range in stature and importance from the alpine oxytropis, thi-ee inches high, 

 to the gigantic and gorgeous amherstia of the Indian forests and the locust- 

 trees of the western continent, some 6f which Martins has estimated to be as 

 old as the time of Homer or earlier. The typical flower and fruit are well 

 known, and the common pea represents the order admirably. But the 

 exceptions to the typical style are numerous. However, this "curious fact 

 comes into the story, that it is quite unusual for a truly leguminoiis plant to 

 depart from the type in both flowers and fruits; it is the rule that if the 

 flowers change the pods remain, and vice versa. Another common chai^acter 



