Wild Flower Families 
rT] 
CROWFOOT FAMILY 
RANUNCULACE/E 
The Buttercup is a typical example of the 
great Crowfoot family, which includes a con- 
siderable number of our most familiar wild 
flowers. A large proportion of these are 
annuals, although some are perennials. They 
nearly all have acrid juices in the stems and leaves. 
Both sepals and petals are usually present, the 
former often being petal-like. A large propor- 
tion of the flowers of early spring belong to this 
family, the Latin name being derived from that 
of the genus Ranunculus, to which the Buttercups: 
belong. 
Hepatica. The Hepatica or Liver-leaf may 
fairly claim to be the first of the spring wild 
flowers. The Swamp Cabbage is not commonly 
recognized as a flower, and the Bloodroot is too 
local in its distribution to be universally known, 
while the Trailing Arbutus is more limited in its 
geographic range than the Hepatica. Conse- 
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