Wild Flowers as They Grow 



Buttercup by its long runners rooting at every 



node ; our plant has neither characteristic. The 



flower stalk in the Bulbous is smooth and furrowed, 



in the Meadow it is hairy and furrowed, in the 



Creeping hairy and without furrows. Though the 



leaves of aU three are divided into many segments, 



those of the Meadow Buttercup are the most finely 



divided and the most rounded in general outline. 



The flowers of the Bulbous Buttercup can at once 



be known from those of the other two because in 



them the sepals are bent right back on to the stem. 



They flourish also only in quite early summer, 



while the other two varieties begin later and last 



on much longer. This earUer flowering is connected 



with the bulb at the base of the stem — though the 



two are not usually associated in the minds of those 



who gather the flowers — for in the bulb the plant 



has nutriment stored from the previous season, so 



that it can get to work at once with its flowers 



in the spring, instead of waiting to manufacture 



the necessary food stuffs as the other Buttercups, 



56 



