I. R ANTJN CUL ACEJE 
15 
Actaea spicata, Linn. ; FI. Br. Ind. i. 29. A perennial, more 
or less pubescent herb. Stems 2-3 ft., erect, usually branched. 
Leaves 6-12 in., alternate, pinnately compound, the pinnules often 
with 3 leaflets ; leaflets ovate-lanceolate, pointed, often lobed, 
deeply and sharply toothed. Flowers regular, scarcely J in. diam., 
white, crowded in short terminal racemes lengthening in fruit. 
Sepals 4, petal-like, concave, soon falling off. Petals 4, shorter 
than the sepals, clawed. Stamens numerous, longer than the 
sepals, anthers small. Ovary solitary, many-ovuled, stigma 
sessile, flat. Fruit a black, ovoid, glabrous berry, containing 
numerous small seeds. 
Narkunda in forest ; June. — Temperate Himalaya, 6000-10,000 ft. — N. Asia, 
N. America, Europe (Britain, Baneberry). 
11. CIMICIFUGA. From the Latin cimex, a bug, and fugare, 
to drive away.— Europe, N. Asia, N. America. 
Cimicifuga foetida, Linn. ; FI. Br. Ind. i. 30. A perennial, 
more or less pubescent herb. Stems 3-6 ft., erect, leafy, branched. 
Leaves 6-18 in., pinnately compound ; leaflets 1-3 in., rarely more, 
ovate or lanceolate, deeply and sharply toothed, terminal leaflet 3- 
lobed. Flowers nearly regular, hardly J in. diam., white, crowded 
in short or long racemes, solitary in the axils of the upper leaves, 
and combined in a terminal, sometimes large and spreading, 
panicle. Sepals and petals 5-7 (no clear distinction between them), 
imbricate, ovate, concave ; one or two of the inner ones deeply 
2-lobed, the tips white, broad, notched. Stamens numerous, ulti- 
mately longer than the sepals. Ovaries 2-5, rarely more, many- 
ovuled, style short, stigma pointed. Follicles in. long, flat, 
tipped with the persistent styles. Seeds 6-8. 
Patarnala in forest, and probably Baghi ; September. — Temperate 
Himalaya, 7000-12,000 ft. — E. Europe, Siberia. 
12. PiEONIA. The Greek name. — N. temperate regions 
(Britain, Pseony). 
*P 3 eonia Emodi, Wall. ; FI. Br. Ind. i. 30. A glabrous, 
perennial herb. Stems 1-2 ft., leafy, erect. Leaves alternate, 
6-12 in. long ; leaflets 3, usually 3-parted, segments lanceolate, 
pointed, entire. Flowers few, showy, 3-4 in. across, long-stalked, 
usually solitary in the axils of the upper leaves. Buds globose. 
Sepals 5, orbicular, concave, green, persistent, the outer ones 
ending in a leaf -like point. Petals 5-10, broadly ovate, concave, 
red or white. Stamens many. Ovaries 1-3, densely hairy, 
many-ovuled, seated on a fleshy disk ; style short, broad, 
recurved. Follicles ovoid, 1 in. Seeds few, large. 
Kumaon, Hazara ; May, June. — W. Himalaya, 5000-10,000 ft. 
