10 



WEEDS. 



is a native of Europe and Barbaiy, and grows in gardens, 

 fields, and waste grounds. The presence of it is not very- 

 troublesome, and it yields readily to cultivation by the hoe 

 and the scuffler. 



5. The " Ranunculus arvensis," or " Corn crowsfoot," is 

 a very common weed on clay lands, which have an upper soil 

 of a soft damp nature. The plant belongs to the class and 

 order " Polyandria polygynia " of Linneus, and the natural 

 order " Ranunculacese" of Jussieu. 



Generic character. — Calyx : perianth, of five ovate, con- 

 cave, somewhat coloured, deciduous leaves. Corolla : petals 

 five, obtuse, polished, with small clawed nectary, a cavity in 

 each petal, jtst above the claw. Stamina : filaments very 

 numerous, half the length of the corolla; anthers firmly 

 united therewith, erect, oblong, obtuse, of two separate lobes. 

 Pistil : germens numerous, collected into a head ; styles none ; 

 stigmas reflexed, very small. Pericarp none. Receptacle 

 beset with extremely minute stalks, to which the seeds are 

 attached. Seeds numerous, naked, irregular, uncertain in 

 figure, with a reflexed point. 



Essential character. — Calyx five-leaved. Petals five to 

 eight, with a honey-bearing pore in the claw of each. Seeds 

 naked. 



The most essential mark of this genus is the nectary ; the 

 rest of the parts being uncertain. The nectary is, in some 

 species, a naked pore ; in some, it is bordered with a cylin- 

 drical margin ; in others closed with a notched scale. 



The "Ranunculus arvensis," or "Corn crowsfoot," has 

 the root annual and fibrous. Stem one or two feet high, 

 much-branched, many -flowered, leafy, nearly smooth. 

 Leaves of a light green colour, slightly hairy, stalked, once 

 or twice ternate, as well as deeply three-cleft; the ultimate 

 segments almost linear, entire, or rarely notched. Flowers 

 small, lemon-coloured, stalked, lateral and terminal. Calyx 

 spreading, hairy. Petals obovate, veined. Fruit depressed. 

 Seeds very large, compressed, with erect, awl-shaped, hooked 

 beaks, their sides armed with numerous prominent awl-shaped 

 prickles, largest towards the margin. 



