ORDER I. RANUNCULACE2E. 20$ 



The C. racemosa ha3 long been used in medicine; in families as a remedy fa 

 rheumatism, dropsy, hysteria, and affections of the lungs; and by physicians wit! 

 decided success in cases' of chorea, St. Vitus' dance. The decoction of the root is th» 

 form in which it is usually administered. 



Genus XIV— TRAUTVETTE'RIA. F. & M. 12—12. 

 (In honor of Trautvetter, a German botanist.) 



Perianth 4 — 5-leaved, leaves equal, orbiculate. Stamens 

 numerous. Anthers introrse. Capsules 15 — 20, membrana- 

 ceous and indehiscent, 3-carinate, 1 -seeded, tipped with a very 

 short hooked style, seed erect. Perennial herbs. Leaves pal- 

 mately lobed. Stem simple, or branching above. Inflo' 

 rescence cymose. 



1. T. Palma'ta, (F. &, M.) Leaves slightly coriaceous with conspicu- 

 ous reticulated veins. Cymes mostly compound. Torrey <fe Gray.— 

 Mountains, N. C. July and Aug. 2 — 3 feet. 



Genus XV.— THALICTRUM. L. 12—12. (Meadow-rue.) 

 (Supposed to be from the Greek thallo, to be green.) 



Sepals and Petals confounded. Perianth 4 — 5-leaved. 

 Stamens numerous, very long. Anthers innate. Carpels 4 

 — 15, without tails, striate. Flowers in corymbs or panicles. 

 Often dioecious or polygamous. 



1. T. cornu'ti, (L.) Stem slender, erect, glabrous. Leaves ternately 

 decompound ; leaflets roundish, obovate, or elliptical, 3-lobed or entire, 

 glaucous beneath, slightly rugose on the upper surface, margin revolute 

 when old. (The leaves of this species vary from the common type in 

 almost every respect.) Panicle terminal, compound. Sepals oblong, 

 small. Filaments clavate. Anthers oblong, pointed. Carpels glabrous. 

 — White. ^ . Can. to Geo. June — August. 



2. T. dioi'cum, (L.) Stern herbaceous, glabrous. Leaves generally 

 triternate on short petioles; leaflets rounded, crenately and obtusely 

 lobed, glaucous beneath. Flowers dioecious. Filaments filiform. An- 

 thers linear, mucronate. Carpels strongly striate, sessile, oblong. 



Var. Stipitatum. Carpels stipitate. — White. "^ . May to July. 

 Mountains. 



3. T. anemonoi'des, (Mich.) Stem 6 — 10 inches high, in bunches. 

 Leaves radical and cauline; radical ones on long petioles; bitemate, 

 cauline ones verticillate, trifoliate, sessile ; leaflets roundish, petiolate, 

 obtusely 3 — 5-lobed. Sepals 6 — 10, elliptical. Ovaries 6 — 10 ; stigma 

 sessile, simple. — White 4 — 8 in. Mar. Ap. Mountains. Rue Anemone. 



4. T. fil'ipes. Stem smooth. Leaves thin, biternate ; leaflets round- 

 ish, 3 — 5-lobed. Flowers in a loose corymbose panicle. Carpels com- 

 pressed, striate. — N. Ca. 2 feet. 



The Thalictrums are easy of cultivation, and quite ornamental, from their bright 

 green and decompound leaves and delicate flowers. They possess, in a slight degree, 

 the acrid properties characteristic of the order, but are applied to no use except orna- 

 ment 



