62 
PLANTS OF YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 
long. The white flowers are small, but numerous, and are arranged 
in a .simple raceme. Each flower has 4 to 6 small, petallike sepals, 
4 to 10 small petals, and numerous stamens, but only 1 pistil. The 
fruits are red or white berries which are poisonous if eaten. The 
genus is commonly called baneberry. 
Marsbmarigold (Caltha rotundifolia) .—A smooth, perennial herb 
which grows in wet places and blooms early in the season. The 
leaves are all basal, entire or nearly so, broadly ovate to oblong and 
1 to 3 inches long. The flowering stems are 1 to 6 inches high and 
one-flowered. The flowers are creamy white and have 5 to 15 sepals, 
no petals, many stamens and several pistils. 
Globeflower (Trolling alhiflorus) .■—This is a perennial herb with 
palmately 5- to 7-parted leaves and large, solitary, terminal, white 
flowers. The flowers resemble those of the marshmarigold. 
Figure 46.— Globeflower. White. Photograph by Dr. Frank R. Oar, tier. 
Buttercup (Ranunculus). —The buttercups are low plants with yel¬ 
low flowers. There are usually 5 sepals, 3 to 15 shiny yellow petals, 
which are nearly always broad and conspicuous, and each of which 
has a little scale-covered pit at the base inside. The different species 
can be distinguished in the following manner: 
1. Water plants. 2. 
1. Land plants. 3. 
2. Leaves 3-lobed__._... |_____ Ranunculus 
2. Leaves many-lofoed and toothed__ Ranunculus 
3. Stems creeping and rooting at the nodes_ Ranunculus 
3. Stems not creeping and rooting at the nodes. 4. 
4. Plant smooth throughout. 5. 
4. Plants more or less hairy, at least on the leaves. 6. 
5. Stems 1 or 2 inches high. Alpine..- Ranunculus 
5. Stems 3 to 6 inches high- Ranunculus 
5. Stems 8 to 20 inches high- Ranunculus 
6. All of the leaves lobed or cleft. 7. 
6. Some of the leaves merely toothed- Ranunculus 
natans. 
purshii . 
reptans. 
jovis. 
alpeophilus. 
eremogenes. 
inamoenus. 
