CROWFOOT FAMILY. Raaunculaceee. 



illow 



Cree in But A species of a similar character, the leaves 



tercup frequently white-spotted or blotched ; the 



Ranunculus deep yellow flowers nearly 1 inch broad, 



repeus blooming a little later. The seed-vessel 



Deep yellow tipped with a short stout spine, thus differ- 



May-July . , , , _, ., 



ing from the rather deciduous long 



straight spine of R. septentrionalis. This buttercup 

 creeps or spreads over the ground by runners. Roadsides 

 and waste places or low grounds, generally near the 

 coast, and mainly introduced from Europe, but also 

 indigenous. 



Often, and improperly, called a butter- 

 foo't y *" CU P> tne flower nas a thimble-shaped, 

 Ranunculus green head formed of the pistils, and in- 

 Pennsylvanicus significant, round yellow petals surround 



jj. It is small, scarcely ^ inch across, and 



does not in the remotest degree suggest 

 the cup-shape of the buttercup. The stem is remarkably 

 stiff-hairy, and irritating to the touch ; it is hollow, 

 coarse, light green, and leafy to the top. Leaves light 

 green, three-divided, with each division three-lobed, 

 cut and slashed like R. acris, and hairy above and 

 beneath. 1-2 feet high. Common in wet situations, 

 from Me. , south to Ga. , and west. 



A small erect plant proceeding from a 



bulbous base or root, with hairy stem and 

 Ranunculus leaf, and large bright, 1 inch wide, deep 

 bulbosus or golden yellow flowers, the green sepals 



Golden or deep of wn i c h are strongly reflexed. The leaves 

 jvfa Jul are deep g reen > decoratively cut and 



slashed, three-divided, each division three- 

 lobed, with only the terminal one stemmed, the lateral 

 ones nearly if not absolutely stemless. 8-16 inches high. 

 Roadsides and fields ; abundant in N. Eng., and natural- 

 ized from Europe. Miiller records the fact that over 60 

 different species of insects visit these old world-butter- 

 cups, i. e., R. repens, R. bulbosus, and R. acris. 



142 



