2 THALAMIFLOR^, 



Natural Order I 

 RANUNCULACEiE.— The Ranunculus Trice 



Sepals distinct, generally 5 ; petals distinct, generally 5, some- 

 times irregular in " form, minute, or wanting; ovaries generally 

 numerous ; fruit consisting of several one- or many-seeded carpels, 

 but in Actaea a berry. An extensive tribe of plants, inhabiting tor 

 the most part the temperate regions of the globe. All the British 

 species are herbaceous, with the exception, of clematis, which is a 

 woody chmbcr. The leaves are generally much divided, the flowers 

 showy, including as they do many garden favourites. Sepals 

 and petals often graduating into one another, sometimes extended 

 into spurs. Most of them possess acrid and poisonous properties 

 if taken into the stomach, and not a few produce wounds if ap- 

 plied to the skin. Some species were formerly used in medicine, 

 and the extract of monk's-hood is still employed to relieve pain 

 in affections of the nerves. The Hellebore was held in high 

 repute among the ancients as a specific for madness ; the beau- 

 tiful garden Christmas Rose belongs to this family. The Celery- 

 leaved Crowfoot, Ranv.nculus scdjr.itiis, is one of the most widely 

 diffused plants, being as common in America, and on the banks 

 of the Ganges, as in our own marshes. 



Carpels one-seeded 



1. Clematis (Traveller's Joy). — Sepals 4-6, resembling petals ; 

 petals wanting ; carpels surmounted by a long feathery tail. 

 (Name from the Greek, clenia, a vine-shoot.) 



2. Thalictrum (Meadow Rue). — Sepals 4-5, resembling petals ; 

 petals wanting ; carpels wilhont (ails. (Name irom the Greek, 

 t hallo, to flourish.) 



3. Anemone (Wincl-flower), — Sepals 5-15, resembling petals ; 

 petals wanting ; involucre of 3 leaves distinct from the flower. 

 (Name from the Greek, anemos, the wind, from the exposed 

 place of growth.) 



4. Adonis (Pheasant's Eye). — Sepals 5 ; petals 5-10, usually 

 red, without a nectary at the base ; carpels without tails. (Name 

 from Adonis, a youth who was killed by a wild boar, and whose 

 blood is fabled to have stained flowers.) 



5. Ranunculus (Crowfoot, Buttercup, Lesser Celandine, etc.).— 

 Sepals 5 (rarely 3) ; petals 5 (rarely nunjerous), with a nectary 

 at the base. (Name from the Latin, rana, a frog, an animal 

 which frequents the kind of places where these plants grow.) 



6. Myosurus (Mouse-tail). — Sepals 5, spurred ; petah 5, 



