RIVER BANKS-BROOKS-RUNNING STREAMS 



I. Small-flowered Crowfoot 



Ranunculus abortlvus (a little frog, referring to the aquatic 

 habits of some species). — Family, Crowfoot. Color, pale yel- 

 low. Leaves, from the root, of 2 kinds, all with long petioles. 

 Those appearing first, roundish, kidney-shaped, with rounded 

 teeth; the later are 3-lobed. Stem -leaves divided mostly 

 into threes, the divisions toothed. Time, April to June. 



Sepals, 5, turned back. Petals, 5, inconspicuous, shorter 

 than the sepals. Flower, small, on a smooth, erect, and 

 branching .stem, growing 2 feet high or less. 



It is fond of wet places, near small streams. 



2. Wild Monkshood 



Aconlium uncinaium. — Family, Crowfoot. Color, blue- 

 purple. Leaves, with petioles, 3 to s-Iobed, coarsely toothed. 

 Time, all summer. 



Sepals, s, irregular; i, the upper, shaped like a helmet or 

 hood. Petals, 2, small, standing on long claws and hidden un- 

 der the hood of the sepal. Pistils, 3 to 5. 



The singular flowers are showy, the " helmet " being promi- 

 nent, obtusely rounded above. They hang loosely from the sum- 

 mits of weak, often climbing stems. A native of Virginia, found 

 northward as far as New Jersey. It loves the banks of small 

 streams. The aconitum of our pharmacies is A. napellus. All 

 the species are highly poisonous. 



