THE MARSH MARIGOLD— continued. 
Columbines, Larkspurs, and Monkshoods ; whilst Anemone^ Clematis^ Ranunculus^ 
Thalictrum, and Myosurus are the chief genera in the latter. 
The genus Caltha, the name of which (derived from the Greek K-dXa^o?, 
kalathos, a cup, and suggested by the form of the blossom) dates from Pliny, is but 
a small one, comprising some sixteen species ; but they are widely distributed in the 
colder and Temperate regions of both the Northern and the Southern Hemispheres. 
This alone is an argument for the great antiquity of the type. One Antarctic species, 
C. dioncetefolia Hooker filius, has leaves the form of which closely resembles those 
of the Venus’s Fly-trap {Dionaa muscipula Ellis) of Carolina, and they may have a 
similarly complex physiology. 
As is commonly the case in this Family, the tap-root in Caltha ceases to 
elongate and is replaced by a bunch of unbranched fleshy root-fibres, and the main 
stem forms a short horizontal rhizome. The leaves are chiefly radical and are 
palmately-veined and cordate at the base. The inflorescence consists of a few large 
flowers with a deciduous petaloid calyx of five yellow or white sepals, which are 
imbricate in the bud. There are no petals, but from five to ten carpels, spirally 
arranged, each containing a double row of ovules. Honey is secreted by the bases 
of the carpels, and the fresh fragrance of the blossoms belongs apparently partly to 
this honey and partly to the copious pollen of the many stamens. Most of the 
species of the genus are semi-aquatic or marsh-plants and are glossily glabrous. 
This striking lustre, the rounded leaves, and the golden-yellow blossoms of our 
common Marsh Marigold suggest, indeed, a relationship to the Lesser Celandine 
closer than actually exists. It is a singular fact that the burnished, golden, rounded 
sepals of the larger plant cannot be considered closely homologous with the 
similarly coloured but pointed petals of the smaller. 
The large kidney-shaped leaves of our British species (C. palustris Linn6) have 
long stalks, membranous stipules, and a toothed margin, and its flowers are from 
one to two inches across. Its honey is abundant and is secreted in two shallow 
depressions at the base of each carpel. Being in no degree concealed it is the food 
of flies and beetles as well as of bees. Several varieties have been described with 
smaller blossoms, of which the most marked is the Scottish C. radicans Forster, 
which roots at its nodes. There are also double-flowered forms in cultivation. 
When, from the end of March into May, as Tennyson says, 
“ The wild marsh marigold shines like fire 
In swamps and hollows grey,** 
its conspicuousness earns for it a great variety of popular names, most of which, 
such as Horse Buttercups Gilty-cup, and King-cups obvious significance. The 
northern names Gowlands and Golland merely refer to its golden colour ; 
while the very general Blobs or Water-Blobs and the obsolete Bassinet refer to its 
globular buds, “ blob ” being connected with “ bubble,” and “ bassinet ” being a 
basin-shaped cap or helmet. 
