CROWFOOT FAMILY 



they will no doubt be successful, and having succeeded the dis- 

 tinctive charm of the flower will be destroyed. We shall have 

 one more big buttercup, but no longer the graceful, winning, 

 • sleepy. Globe Flower. 



DOUBLE BUTTERCUP 



Ranunculus acris var. flbre-pUno. 



Ranunculus, from Rana, little frog; because many of the species 

 live in swamps with the frogs. 



A full, double-flowered variety of the common field Buttercup long ' 

 in cultivation. One of the old-fashioned flowers. 



Stem. — Erect, two to three feet high, branching. 



Leaves. — Much divided, juices watery, acrid. 



Flowers. — Terminal, bright-yellow. 



Sepals. — Five, green. 



Petals. — Five in the type, many and crowded in the garden form. 



Stamens and pistils. — Wanting in the double form. 



The common Buttercup of neglected fields and roadsides came 

 to us from England. The plant is a weed, pure and simple, taking 

 the food and the moisture of the soil without return. Its acrid 

 juices make it immune from grazing animals, so that it increases 

 without stint in pasture-lands. 



The origin of the double form is not well understood, but it 

 seems to be among the first double flowers cultivated in English 

 gardens. The multiplying petals are curiously symmetrical, both 

 in form and arrangement, producing golden globes, which win 

 interest if not admiration because of their prim regularity. They 

 are often called Bachelor's Buttons; a name given to Centaurea 

 cyanus. 



The Bulbous Buttercup, Ranunculus bulhbsa, has a double 

 form; also Ranunculus rbpens. No doubt any Buttercup could 

 be made to double. 



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