RANUNCULACE^E. (CROWFOOT FAMILY.) 



Order 1. RANUNCUL.ACEJE. (Crowfoot Family.) 



Herbaceous or somewhat shrubby plants with very diverse characters ; 

 generally distinguished by the few or numerous sepals, petals, stamens, 

 and pistils being distinct and free. The flowers are regular or irregular. 

 The sepals are very commonly petal-like, and the petals are often want- 

 ing. The fruits are akenes, dry pods, or berries. The leaves vary from 

 simple to much compounded, usually on the palmately veined type, 

 with petioles dilated at base, and without stipules. 



Tribe I. Sepals valvate, petal-like. Petals none or very small. The fruit a head of akenes, 

 tailed with feathery or hairy or rarely naked styles. Leaves opposite. 



1. Clematis. . Half-woody, climbing by the petioles, or erect and herbaceous. 

 Tribe II. Sepals imbricate, often petal-like. The fruit a head or spike of akenes. 



* Petals none. Akenes in a head. 



2. Anemone. Sepals indefinite in number. Leaves on the stem opposite orwhorled on 



or below one-flowered peduncles. 



3. Thalictrum. Flowers mostly dioecious, panicled. Leaves alternate. 



* * Petals slender. Akenes numerous in a long slender spike. 



4. Myosurus. Flowers solitary on a scape. Sepals spurred at base. 



* * * Petals ggnerally broad and conspicuous. Akenes numerous in a head. 



5. Ranunculus. Petals with a little pit or scale at the base inside. The akene differs 



from all others of the order in having the ovule erect. 



Tribe III. Sepals imbricate. Petals none, small, or irregular. Fruit a pod or berry. 



Leaves alternate. 



* Fruit consisting of pods (follicles), 1 to 15 in number. 



«»- Flowers regular. Pods 5 to 15. 



6. Caltlia. Sepals petal-like. Petals none. Pods 5 to 12. Leaves simple. 



7. Trollius. Petals many, minute and stamen-like, hollowed near the base. Pods 8 to 



15. Leaves palmately divided. 



8. Aquilegia. Sepals deciduous. Petals 5, all spurred backward. Pods 5. Leaves 



ternately compound. 



-*- ■*- Flowers irregular. Pods 1 to 5. 



9. Delphinium. Upper sepal produced backward into a spur. 



10. Aconitum. Upper sepal arched into a hood. 



* * Fruit a berry of one carpel. 



11. Actsea. Sepals caducous. Petals small. Leaves ternately compound. The flowers 



are in a single raceme. 



1. CLEMATIS, L. Virgins-Bower. 



Sepals 4 or rarely more A genus which is readily recognized by its few 

 petal-like valvate sepals, and long-tailed akenes. 



* Petals none. 



h- Stem erect. 

 1. C. Fremoiltii, Watson. Stems stout, clustered, 6 to 12 inches high, 

 leafy and usually branched, more or less villous-tomentose. especially at the 

 nodes : leaves simple, 3 to 4 pairs, thiclcish and with the veinlets conspicuously 



