208 ORDER I. RANUNCULACE.E. 



lower ones oblong, irregular, deciduous, upper one concave, 

 shield-like. Petals 5, three lower ones minute, often wanting, 

 lie two upper on long claws, concealed under the upper sepal. 

 Follicles 3 — 5, many-seeded. Stamens numerous. 



1. A. uncina'tum, (L.) Stem twining, blanching, slender, pubescent 

 when young. Leaves 3 — 5-lobed, coriaceous, coarsely-toothed, trun- 

 cate at the base. Lobes 8-ribbed, lateral segments often 2-lobed. 

 Flow rs in a loose panicle, galea large, tapering to an obtuse beak, 



spur thick, inclined. — Blue. If. Mountains. 2 feet. Monk' s-1i.ood. 



The Bame powerful, volatile principle noticed under Ranunculus exists in the 

 Aconitum in a state of much greater concentration. Another principle of a narcotic 

 character is found in the different species of this genus, called Aconttin, The leaves 

 of the Aconitum act powerfully on the human system, producing, in large doses, the 

 asual effects of the most violent poisons. In small doses of one or two grains of the 

 powdered leaves, il has been employed in rheumatism (in which it has produced 

 most salutary effects), -out, scrofula, cancer. &C It acts most powerfully on the 

 nervous system, producing delirium in over doses. The A. uucinattiin is cultivated 

 as an ornament of the ilower garden. 



( :i;nus XIL— AGTM' A. L. 12— 1. {Baneberry. Cohosh.) 

 (From the Greek akte, the elder, from a resemblance in the leaves.) 



Sepals 4 — 5, deciduous. Petals 4 — 8, spatulate, oblong, 

 shorter than the stamens, or none. Stamens numerous, anthers 

 introrse. Stigma sessile. Carpels baccate, solitary, many- 

 seeded. Seeds compressed, smooth. 



1. A. at/i-.a, (Big.) Stem 2 — 3 feet high. Leaves ternately decom- 

 pound, leaflets acutely serrate, notched, slightly pubescent. Raceme 

 oblong, pedicels very thick when the fruit is matured, flowers crowded. 

 Fruit white. — Mountains. April — May. Necklace weed. 



Genus XIII.— CIMICIF'UGA. L. 12—5. (Bugbane.) 

 (From the Latin cimex, a bug, a,nd/ugo, to drive away.) 



Sepals 4 — 5. Petals 4, sometimes none, concave or unguic- 

 ulate. Stamens numerous. Anthers introrse. Styles short. 

 Leaves 2 or 3-ternately divided. Segments incised, toothed. 

 Flowers in long racemes. 



1. C. rackmo'sa, (Ell.) Stem 3 — 8 feet high, generally pubescent, 

 furrowed, leafy near the middle. Leaves decompound, incised, acutely 

 serrate Flower* monogynons, bracteate, in long terminal rucomos, 

 branched. S- pals caducous. Petals none, or very small, with long 



Capsules ovate, seeds 7 or 8, compressed. — Yellowish white. 

 ^ . Thick woods. Mid. (Jeo. 



2. C. Aw&IOa'na, (Mich.) Stem 2 — 4 feet high, glabrous. Leaves 

 decompound, triternate, segments ovate, the terminal 3-parted or 3- 

 cleft, inciscly lobed, emirate Or subcordate at the base. Flowers in 

 racemes, on Bhort bracteate pedicels. Sepals 5, ovate. Ovaries 2 — 5, 

 stipitate, smooth, compressed, generally fewer in the upper than in the 

 lower Ilower. — Mountains. A.Ug. and Sept. 



8. ('. coKim o'i i \. ( Pnrsh.) Resembles the two preceding. Leave* 

 hit ornate. Leaflet* 3 — 5 — 7dobed, cordate. Ovaries 2 — 3, glabrous, 

 sessile. — Mountains, duly. 



