Page:Wayside and Woodland Blossoms.djvu/47

Rh at its beautiful flowers that it is a member of the great order of Roses, and not distantly removed from the apple section of that order. The calyx-tube adheres to the ovary, and the five petals are inserted at the mouth of the calyx. The stamens are numerous ; the styles one, two, or three, corresponding with the number of carpels. In the fruit these are covered by the red, fleshy coat in which the bony cells are enveloped, and which is valued as a food by birds in autumn and winter.

May and June are the usual months for flowering, but occasionally it is in blossom at the end of April. Though the characteristic odour from these flowers is sweet, now and then a tree will be found whose every flower gives out a distinctly fishy flavour that is far from pleasant; often, too, it may be found with pink or crimson blossoms. This is the only British species. The name is from the Greek, Kratos, strength, in allusion to the hardness of its wood.

There are three species of Ranunculus to which the name of Buttercup is applied impartially; but the one to which it most properly belongs is the Bulbous Crowfoot (R. bulbosus), in which the cup-shape is more perfect than in the others. We have already dealt with the general characters of the genus in describing the Lesser Celandine: here we will glance only at the specific differences between this and the other buttercup-species of Ranunculus or Crowfoot. I. Ranunculus acris is the Upright Crowfoot. The rootstock is straight and erect. The lower leaves are divided into wedge-shaped segments, which are again much cut up the upper leaves less intricately so. The petals are broader than in the Celandine, and fewer usually five, more or less flat when fully expanded. Flower-stalk not furrowed; sepals spreading. Stem one to three feet high. Meadows and pastures everywhere, June and July.