R. FLAM'MULA. Leaves egg-spear-shaped, rather obtuse, on leaf-stalks: stem reclining, radicating. Curt.-(E. Bot. 387. E.)—Fl. Dan. 575-Dod. 432. 1-Lob. Obs. 382. 2, and Ic. i. 670. 1-Ger. Em. 961. 2-H. Ox. iv. 29. 34-Walc. 5-Park. 1215. 2-Ger. 814. 2. (Root composed of long simple fibres. Stems six to eighteen inches long, spreading, branched, leafy, cylindrical, smooth. Flowers terminal, solitary, pedunculated, upright, of a rich shining yellow. Calyx reflexed, nearly smooth. Nectary very small. Secds smooth at the sides. Sm. E.) Leaf-stalks long, or rather a doubling of the leaves. Leaves more or less toothed or serrated. The plants with leaves serrated are represented in Dod. 432. 2-Lob. Obs. 382. 3. and Ic. i. 670. 2-Ger. Em. 962. 3-Pet. 39. 6-H. Ox. iv. 29. 35—J. B. iii. 864. 3-Ger. 814. 3-Park. 1215. 3. LESSER SPEAR-WORT. (Irish: Laissar Lena. Welsh: Poethflam; Blaen (Meloe proscarabæus and M. violaceus likewise frequent the different species; and one or the other by some Entomologists have been represented as the formidable Bupestris of the ancients, so injurious to cattle; but this opinion needs confirmation; (also on this species and R. acris, will be found the parasitic fungus Ecidium Ficaria," crowded; capsule cylindrical, white, spreading; seeds bright orange." (Cultivated occasionally with a double blossom, but even in that state too prone to extend itself as a troublesome weed. In an age of ignorance and superstition, (certainly before Intellect had assumed the three-league boots), this plant obtained its more common English name from a supposititious virtue in curing hemorrhoids, merely deduced from the peculiar shape of its roots : of which, likewise, the Latin trivial (Ficaria, fig-like), is descriptive. Though unuoticed by the poets of old, the more observant moderns have condescended to sing the praises even of this unaspiring weed. As the welcome "Herald Of a joyous train ensuing," Wordsworth has diffusely lauded the "Little humble Celandine." And Charlotte Smith thus introduces it as engaging the attention of her adventurous butterfly: 66 Trusting the first warm day of spring, When transient sunshine warms the sky, Comes forth the early butterfly. With wavering flight he settles now Where Pilewort spreads its blossoms fair, Or on the grass where daisies blow, Pausing, he rests his pinions there." As in the fable of Adonis, Proserpine is said to have restored the favourite to life, on condition that he should spend six months with her, and the rest of the year with Venus, which implies the alternate return of Summer and Winter; so it is impossible not to believe that even the heathen mythologists, though as yet "seeing but through a glass darkly," in the habitual contemplation of such phenomena as the seeming death and revival of nature, were confirmed in the innate principle of the soul's existence after death: "Shall I be left abandon'd in the dust, When Fate, relenting, lets the flower revive?" Beattie. And equally applicable to the like moral inference is the wonderful transmutation of the winged insect emerging from its sepulchral chrysalis. Indeed the Christian will therein behold a glimmering of that brighter light which was afterwards to be manifested ;--a typical emblem of the more peculiar and momentous doctrine revealed in the Gospel. E.) y gwaewlleiaf. Gaelic: An lus-mor; Ghlaisleun. E.) Bogs, boggy meadows and sides of rivulets. P. June-Sept. (R. reptans of Linn. Lightf. With. and other authors, even in the time of Lightfoot, was suspected to be only a variety of this species, and in that opinion more recent Botanists generally concur. It has been frequently observed in a series of gradations between the two; it is thus described by Mr. Woodward. Leaves one to four at each joint, upright. Stem slender, creeping. Flowers solitary, terminal, or at the joints; small, yellow. (Leaves very narrow, approaching to strap-shaped; whole plant diminutive, three to five inches in length; radicating from the joints. E.) Dicks. H.S.-Kniph. 9—Lightf. 1, frontispiece-Fl. Dan. 108—Amman. 13. 1-Fl. Lapp. 3. 5. Narrow-leaved Crowfoot. R. flammula 8. Hal. Scop. Sm. E.) Sides of lakes, (not unfrequent in the north of England. E.) West end of Loch Laver. Stony margin of Conniston Water, Lancashire. Mr. Woodward. In a field between an old intrenchment and the high road near Manchester race ground. Mr. Caley. (On the margins of Loch Tay. Mr. Brown. By Loch Leven, and Derwent-water. Mr. Winch. Margins of lakes in Anglesey. Welsh Bot. E.) P. July-Aug. R. LINGUA. Leaves elongate lanceolate, somewhat serrated, nearly sessile: stem upright, (many flowered. E.) (Hook. Fl. Lond. 171. E.)-E. Bot. 100-Fl. Dan. 755-Ger. 814. 1Ger. Em. 961. 1-Park. 1215. 1-H. Ox. iv. 29. 33-Pet. 39. 5-J. B. iii. 865. A much larger plant than R. flammula. Leaves in length equal to many times their breadth, ending in a long taper point, but in R. flammula they are in length only three or four times their breadth, and do not end in a long point. Blossom large, deep yellow. (Stem three or four feet high. Calyx hairy. Plant usually silky with appressed hairs; but the degree of hairiness seems to vary, and sometimes the leaves are entire. E.) GREAT SPEARWORT, OF CROWFOOT. (Welsh: Blaen y gwaew mwyaf. E.) Wet pastures and sides of lakes. Bogs on Iver Heath, near Uxbridge. Between Rotherhithe and Deptford. Bogs on Malvern Chase, Worcestershire. Mr. Ballard. Kineson Pool, near Stafford Dr. Stokes. Ditches about Restennet, Angus-shire. Mr. Brown. Sides of Ancot Pool, Salop. Mr. Aikin. (Crosby Marsh, near Liverpool. Dr. Bostock. In ditches at Preswick Carr, Northumberland. Mr. Winch. In a bog in the parish of Llangoed, Anglesey. Welsh Bot. Duddingston Loch, near Edinburgh. Parsons, in Lightf. E.) P. June-July. R. GRAMIN'EUS. Leaves spear-strap-shaped, (many-ribbed, sessile: E.) stem upright, very smooth, few-flowered: root tuberous. * It is very acrid. Applied externally it inflames and blisters the skin, (as regularly practised in the Highlands and Islands of Jura, where the bruised leaves are applied in a Jimpet shell. E.) Horses eat it. Cows, sheep, goats, and swine refuse it. Its acrimony rises in distillation. Some years ago a man travelled through several parts of England administering emetics, which, like white vitriol, operated the instant they were swallowed. The distilled water of this plant was his medicine: and, from the experience I have had of it, I feel myself authorised to assert, that in the case of poison being swallowed, or other circumstances occurring, in which it is desirable to produce instantaneous vomiting, it is preferable to any other medicine yet known, and does not excite those painful contractions in the upper part of the stomach which white vitriol sometimes does, thereby defeating the intention for which it was given. (E. Bot. 2306. E.)-Bauh. Hist. iii. 866.3. About a foot high. Leaves quite smooth, long and narrow like those of grasses. Flowers pale yellow, smaller than those of R. lingua. (Calyx perfectly smooth, lying open, but not reflexed. GRASSY CROWFOOT. E.) Brought from North Wales, by Mr. Pritchard. P. May-June. (2) Leaves dissected and divided, not uniform, R. AURI COMUS. Root-leaves kidney-shaped, scollopped, cut: stem-leaves digitate, strap-shaped: stem many-flowered. Curt.-(E. Bot. 624. E.)-Fuchs. 156-Trag. 97—J. B. iii. 857. 3-Lonic. i. 162. 2-Kniph. 2-Fl. Dan. 665-Lob. Ic. 669. 2—Ger. 954. 7—Park. 326.7-Pet. 38. 2-H. Ox. iv. 28. 15-Pet. 38. 6-Ger. 807. 8. Nectary a small oblique hole at the bottom of the petals not covered by any scale. Curt. Blossoms yellow, large. Stem about a foot high, leafy, slightly hairy on the upper part, slender. Leaves very slightly pubescent, the root-leaves on long leaf-stalks; the stem-leaves sessile. Calyx hairy, not reflexed, yellow. Flowers sometimes imperfect in the petals. Not acrid as are some of its congeners. E.) WOOD CROWFOOT. GOLDILOCKS. (Welsh: Peneuraidd. E.) Woods, groves, and hedges. P. April-May. R. SCELERA'TUS. (Stem hollow, branched: lower leaves palmate, the upper digitate: fruit oblong. (E. Bot. 681. E.)-Curt.-Fl. Dan. 571-Fuchs. 159-Trag. 93—J. B. iii. $58. 1-Lonic. i. 163. 2-Dod. 426. 2-Lob. Obs. 382. 1, and Ic. i. 669. 1 -Ger. Em. 962. 4-Park. 1215. 6-Pet. 38. 11-H. Ox. iv. 29. 27 and 28-Matth. 610. Plant acrid, succulent, much branched, light-coloured. Stem smooth, thick, one to two feet high. Leaves smooth, with three or four deep divisions; segments spear-shaped, more or less jagged. Flowers small, yellow. Flowers numerous, pedunculated. Fruit egg-oblong, with very many seeds, E.) WATER, OR CELERY-LEAVED CROWFOOT. (Irish: Turkis fihain. Welsh: R. A'CRIS. Calyx expanding: fruit-stalks cylindrical, not furrowed : leaves with three divisions, and many clefts; the uppermost strap-shaped, entire. Curt.-E. Bot. 652. E.)-Woodv. 246-Walc.-J. B. iii. 416-Blackw.31. 2 and E.-Dod. 426. 1-Lob. Obs. 379. 2, and Ic. i. 665. 1-Park. 328. 2— Pet. 38. 3-H. Ox. iv. 28. 16. Stem with hairs adpressed, (upright, two feet high, branching upwards. E.) Calyx hairy, coloured. Leaves hairy, segments black or deep purple at the points. Stem-leaves sessile, but sheathing the joints. Leaf-stalks hairy. Blossom yellow. (Nectary covered by a scale. Sm. Fruit-stalks occasionally flatted. Size and pubescence vary extremely; in sterile mountainous situations, single-flowered. E.) The whole plant is very corrosive; and beggars use it to ulcerate their feet, which they expose in that state, to excite compassion.(It has been used as a substitute for Cantharides, but the wounds prove more troublesome and difficult to heal. E.) Goats eat it. Cows, horses, and sheep refuse it. (Frequently cultivated in gardens with double blossoms, (Yellow Batchelors' Buttons,) and found so in a wild state at Mill Green, near Ravensworth, by Mr. Winch. E.) BUTTER CUPS. (UPRIGHT MEADOW CROWFOOT. (Irish: Fearban. Welsh: Cafrange y från sythboethus y gweunydd. E.) Meadows and pastures, very common. P. June-July.* (3) Leaves dissected and divided; uniform. R. PARVIFLORUS. Seeds rough with tubercles ending in hooked points: leaves heart-shaped, hairy, lobed or toothed; upper ones threelobed: stem prostrate. E. Bot. 120-Ray. 12. 1. at p. 326-H. Ox. iv. 28. 21-Pet. 38. 9Pluk. 55. 1. Whole plant trailing close on the ground, (six or eight inches long. E.) Root-leaves on very long leaf-stalks, kidney, or heart-shaped, toothed. Stem-leaves kidney-shaped; upper ones sessile, simple or with three divisions; all the leaves extremely soft to the touch. Flowers small, yellow. (Petals narrow, sometimes partially wanting. E.) Seeds flatted; with minute hooked prickles on their sides. SMALL-FLOWERED CROWFOOT. (Welsh: Crafunge y från manflodeuog. E.) R. HEDERA CEUS. Leaves roundish, three to five-lobed, very entire: stem creeping. Curt. 247-(E. Bot. 2003. E.)-Fl. Dan. 321-J. B. iii. 782. 2-H. Ox. iv. 29. 29-Pet. 38. 12. Leaves shining, some-kidney-shaped, lobes nearly heart-shaped. Leafstalks flatted. Fruit-stalks not furrowed. Petals small, spear-shaped, white. Stamens five, six, seven, rarely more. Nectaries yellowish. Seeds wrinkled. (Stems prostrate, or floating on water; radicating. E.) IVY-LEAVED CROWFOOT. (Welsh: Crafange y frân eiddewddail. E.) On the mud of slow shallow rivulets, and other watery places. P. June-Aug. R. ALPES'TRIS. Leaves very smooth: root-leaves nearly heart-shaped, Sheep and goats eat it. Cows, horses, and swine refuse it. Linn. Cows and horses leave this plant untouched, though their pasture be ever so bare. (Such seems to be the case in general; but necessity will not always admit of choice, and we are also inclined to believe that the young shoots may be less acrimonious. E.) It is very acrid, and easily blisters the skin. (Curtis relates that even gathering the plant and carrying it some distance in the naked hand will produce a tendency to inflammation. E.) blunt, three-cloven, lobed; those of the stem spear-shaped, very entire stem with one flower. Jacq. Austr. 110-E. Bot. 2390. (Plant four or five inches high, erect, smooth in every part. Leaves chiefly radical, veined. Flower large. E.) Petals inversely heart-shaped, of a brilliant white. Calyx smooth, bordered with white. Stem-leaf often ternate; the radical ones greatly resemble those of R. aquatilis that float on the surface, and in watery places may be mistaken for them. Linn. Tr. vol. 10. p. 434. ALPINE WHITE CROWFOOT. Discovered by the sides of little rills, and in other moist places about two or three rocks on the mountain of Clova, - Angus-shire, very rare, and but seldom flowering, by Mr. Don, who suggests that its herbage, bearing a great resemblance to several of its kindred, may easily have been overlooked, but when in blossom it is truly an attractive plant. P. May. E.) R. AQUATILIS. (Stem floating, submersed leaves hair-like; those above somewhat peltate, lobed, notched, with nearly central leaf-stalks. E.) : E. Bot. 101-Pet. 39. 1-J. B. iii. 781. 1-Barr. 565-Dod. 587. 2-Lob. Obs. 497. 2, and Ic. ii. 35. 2—Ger. Em. 829. 2-Park. 1216. 8-H. Ox. iv. 29. 31. Flowers on fruit-stalks which arise from the same sheath with the leaves. Petals white, with a yellow spot at the base. Nectary a short open tube. (Stems cylindrical, leafy, lengthened branched out, according to the depth of water. Plant often covering the surface in extensive dense masses, with a profusion of flowers. E.) Var. 2. Large-flowered. None of the leaves hair-like; flowers very large. Var. 3. Circinatus. All the leaves hair-like, forming a roundish line. H. Or. iv. 29. 32-Ger. 679—J. B. iii. 781. 2-Pet. 39. 2. Var. 5. Fluviatilis. All the leaves hair-like; segments very long, parallel, taking the direction of the rapid stream, (and thus exhausted, rarely producing flowers. E. Fl. Dan. 376-J. B. iii. 782. 1-Lob. Ic. i. 791. 1-Ger. Em. 827. 3-Park. 1256. 5-Pet. 39. 4. WATER CROWFOOT. RAIT. (Irish: Niul uisge. Welsh: Crafrange från dyfrle. Ponds, ditches, and rivers. P. May-July. This is a troublesome weed in ponds, but its flowers produce a beautiful effect when in such profusion as to cover the whole surface of the water. The varieties in the leaves seem entirely occasioned by the greater or less depth of the water, and by its being stagnant or not, and are therefore by no means constant. (Mr. Thomson remarks that in plants even not aquatics, but which happen to be planted in water, we may perceive the metamor |
