/ ie 
Hos? OCCASIONALLY FATAL. 
The plant, which blooms from June to August, is an 
annual, one-half to two feet high. The thickish leaves 
are three-lobed and toothed, the radical with long petioles 
and those of the stem sessile or with shorter stalks. The 
flower is typical of the family, with five sepals, five petals 
of equal length, and numerous stamens and pistils, the 
latter forming an oblong head when ripe. The flower is 
about one quarter of an inch broad, and pale yellow. 
THE COMMON OR TALL BUTTERCUP, Ranunculus acris 
Ke 4, is L., is plentiful in pastures east of the prairies and is found 
f 
‘a . 
also in British Columbia. Its effects resemble those of 
Ranunculus sceleratus but are not nearly so pronounced. 
Animals avoid it, but naturally, in pastures where it is 
plentiful, small amounts are sometimes eaten, and in such 
cases it has been blamed for causing sporadic abortion 
in cows. As in all other members of the genus, the poison 
is volatile, and when dried in hay the plants are harmless. 
The Tall Buttercup is a perennial, somewhat hairy 
plant, two to three feet in height and conspicuous on ac- 
count of the abundant bright yellow flowers sometimes 
an inch in diameter. The sepals are small, pointed, and 
hidden by the spreading, rounded petals. The leaves are 
three to seven-parted, and deeply lobed. The root leaves 
are larger and more lobed than the stem leaves, and are 
provided with long petioles. 
THE SMALL FLOWERED CROWFOOT, Ranunculus abor- 
tivus L., is acrid, and causes blistering. It is a smooth 
plant one-half to two. feet high. Its root leaves are 
petioled, round, heart-shaped or kidney-form and cre- 
