POLYANDRIA POLYGYXIA 333 



263. THALICTRUM. />. tfutt. Gen. 485. 



[Supposed to be from the Gr. thallo, to be green ; in allusion to its verdant aspect.] 



Oftex dioicous, on polygamous : Involucre beneath the flower 

 none. Sepals mostly 4 or 5, petaloid, caducous. Carpels awnless or 

 ecaudate, often longitudinally striatc-sulcate, or ribbed, sometimes 



stipitate. 



Herbaceous: leaves twice or thrice tornate, leaflets mostly 3-lobed; flowers 

 terminal, subumbellate, corymbose, or paniculate. Nat. Ord. 3. Lindl. Ran- 



UNCULACEjE. 



* Stamens shorter than the sepals. 

 1. T. axexoxoides, Mx. Root tuberous ; radical leaves bitcrnate, 

 leaflets subcordate, 3-lobed ; floral leaves resembling an involucre* op- 

 posite, or ternate, each trifoliate ; flowers few, perfect, umbellate ; sepals 

 8 or 10. Beck, Bot. p. 5. 



Anemone thalictroidcs. IVllld. Sp. 2. p. 1284. Pers. Stjyu 2. p. 98. 

 Ait. Ketv. 3. p. 341. Muhl. Catal. p. 54, Pursh, Am. 2. p. 387. 

 Xutt. Gen. 2. /;. 21. Bart. Phil. 2. p. 19. Bart. Am. 2. p. 27. 

 (Icoy, tab. 44.) Bigel. Bost. p. 223. Florul. Cestr.p. 59. Lindl. 

 Ency. p. 482. Eat. Man. p. 20. 



ANL MO X E-LI K E Til A LI CTIIUM . 



Plant glabrous. Root perennial,— a few fibres from a fascicle of 2 to 4 or 5 whi- 

 tish obovok% >blong or clavatc fleshy tubers. Radical leaves biternate ; leoflets 3 

 f nirihs of an inch to an inch long, and nearly as wide as long, broad and somewhat 

 3-lobed at apex, obliquely cordate at base, on slender petioles half an inch to an 

 inch long; common petiole 2 to 4 or 5 inches long, and, together with the scapes, 

 embraced at base by lance-oblong imbricated membranaceous stipules. Scapes 

 4 to 6 or 8 inches long, nearly erect, usually 2 or 3 from the same root, slender, 

 often purple. Floral leaves at the summit of the scape, mostly 2, opj>osite (some- 

 times 3 and verlicillatc), trifoliate ; leaflets resembling the radical ones, on slen- 

 der petioles half an inch to an inch and half long, ona very short common petiole, 

 —appearing rather to be merely united at base. Flowers in a terminal umbel of 

 3 to 5 or 6 rays, or peduncles, which arc from half an inch to an inch and half 

 in length. Sepals mostly white, sometimes slightly tinged with purple, obovate- 

 oblong, obtuse, twice as long as the stamens. Carpels aggregated, lance-oblong> 

 acute, smooth, with prominent ribs, substipitate. 



Hub. Open woodlands, and clearings: common. Fl. April— May. Fr. June. 



Ob*. This is a plant of rather equivocal generic character,— and forms a con- 

 necting link between Anemone and Thaliclrum. 



* * Stamens longer than the sepals. 



2. T. diotcux, /,. Leaves decompound ; leaflets roundish-cordate, 

 crcnatc-lobod, glabrous, glaucous beneath ; flowers dioicous ; filaments 

 filiform ; ovaries semi-ovoid, shorter than the styles. Beck, Bot. p. 5. 

 T. lffivigatum. Mx. Am. I. p. 322. Also, Pers. St/n. 2. p. 100. 

 Also, T. purpurascens. Wilta\ Pers. Pursh. DC. Book. Becky &c. 

 Dioicous Thalictrum. 



Plant glabrous, and often purplish. Root perennial, of numerous long coarse 

 fibres. Stem 12 to 18 inches high, with sheathing stipules at base, sparingly bran- 

 ched at 6ummit. Leaves mostly trlternate ; leaflets half an inch to 3 quarters in 

 length, and rather wider than long, often roundish-reniform, rather thin and mem- 



