_Crowfoot Family_
Herbs or rarely climbing shrubs with acrid sap; leaves usually
alternate without stipules; flowers usually showy, blue, white, yellow,
or scarlet; sepals 3—15, generally soon falling away, often petal-like;
petals about the same number or occasionally wanting; stamens many;
carpels many or rarely solitary.
[Illustration: Atragene columbiana Nutt. (⅔ Nat.) Purple
Virgin’s-Bower.]
Carpels with solitary ovules; fruit an achene.
Sepals valvate in the bud; leaves opposite. =Atragene.=
Sepals folded on each other in the bud; leaves not opposite.
Stem leaves three in a whorl.
Styles short, smooth or hairy. =Anemone.=
Styles long, plumose. =Pulsatilla.=
Stem leaves alternate or basal.
Petals none, flowers small; leaves compound. =Thalictrum.=
Petals present.
Flowers white. =Batrachium.=
Flowers yellow.
Achenes papillose or spiny. =Ranunculus.=
Achenes longitudinally nerved. =Halerpestes.=
Carpels with several ovules; fruit, follicles or berries.
Flowers regular.
Leaves simple.
Petals none; leaves cordate-orbicular. =Caltha.=
Petals linear-spatulate; leaves palmately parted.
=Trollius.=
Leaves compound.
Sepals spurred; carpels becoming follicles. =Aquilegia.=
Sepals not spurred; carpels becoming berries. =Actæa.=
Flowers irregular; upper sepals spurred. =Delphinium.=
[Sidenote: =Atragene columbiana= Nutt. _Purple Virgin’s-bower._]
A climbing or trailing vine with somewhat woody stems. Leaves
trifoliate, the leaflets thin, on slender petioles, ovate, attenuate,
acute, and entire, 2—3 inches long. Flowers purple, 1½—2 inches
broad, on long peduncles, solitary in the axils of the leaves; sepals
4—6, oblong-lanceolate, acuminate, more than twice the length of the
stamens; styles persistent, forming a plumose head of fruit.
In rocky woods and on shaded mountain sides up to 6000 feet elevation,
throughout the Rockies, trailing over the ground, or festooning the
shrubs or lower branches of the trees; flowering in early June.
[Sidenote: =Anemone parviflora= Michx. _Northern Anemone._]
Stem simple, sparingly hairy, 4—8 inches high. Basal leaves
long-petioled, 3-parted, the broadly wedge-shaped divisions
obtusely-lobed or crenate, those of the involucre nearly sessile,
similarly lobed. Flower an inch or less in diameter, sepals, oblong,
very obtuse, white, blue on the outside near the base; stamens
numerous; head of fruit globose.
Common throughout the Rockies in moist ground and rich woods; flowering
early in June.
[Illustration: _a_ Anemone Drummondii S. Wats. Alpine Anemone.
_b_ Anemone parviflora Michx. Northern Anemone. (⅔ Nat.)]
[Sidenote: =Anemone Drummondii= S. Wats. _Alpine Anemone._]
Sparingly pubescent, with long whitish hairs, especially at the
involucre, 4—6 inches high. Root leaves, slender-petioled, 3-parted,
the divisions cut into linear, oblong obtuse lobes; leaves of the
involucre similar on short petioles, their lobes slightly broader.
Flowers usually solitary, half an inch or more broad on long peduncles;
sepals 5, ovate or oval, obtuse, white, finely appressed-hairy and blue
outside.
Throughout the region in alpine meadows and slopes near the snow,
flowering in June and July as the snows disappear.
[Sidenote: =Anemone globosa= Nutt. _Wind-flower._]
Stems 3—15 inches high, close, silky-hairy. Root leaves long-petioled,
nearly semicircular in outline, 3-parted, the sessile divisions deeply
lobed, with cleft, linear segments, involucral leaves similar, short
petioled. Sepals 5—8, red, bluish or nearly pure white, half an inch
or less long, soft, hairy outside, receptacle oblong, in fruit densely
woolly.
The most abundant anemone through the Rockies in the low open valleys,
and, occasionally on the slopes, presenting the greatest variety of
colouring from deep rosy pink to pure white and occasionally blue;
flowering in early June.
[Sidenote: =Pulsatilla hirsutissima= (Pursh.) Britton. _Pasque-Flower._]
Villous, 6—18 inches high. Leaves much divided into narrow, linear,
acute lobes, the basal on slender petioles, those of the involucre
sessile and erect or ascending. Flowers bluish-purple, sometimes nearly
white inside; sepals 5—7 ovate-oblong 1—1½ inches long, forming a cup;
fruit a head of long silky achenes 2 inches or more in diameter.
This is one of the earliest and most beautiful of all the spring
flowers, in the open meadows and mountain sides, blossoming through May
and June according to the situation. Probably its most common local
name, in the Rockies where it is very abundant, is that of crocus, to
which flower it does bear a superficial resemblance, in size, shape,
and colour, and in the habit of the flower appearing as soon as the
snow has left the ground, and before the leaves.
[Illustration: _a_ Pulsatilla hirsutissima (Pursh Britton). Pasque
Flower.
_b_ Pulsatilla occidentalis (S. Wats.) Freyn. (⅔ Nat.) Western
Anemone.]
[Sidenote: =Pulsatilla occidentalis= (S. Wats.) Freyn. _Western
Anemone._]
Stem rather stout, silky-hairy, 6—18 inches high, simple. Leaves
biternate, the lower on long petioles, the divisions deeply pinnatifid
into deeply cut linear, acute lobes; those of the involucre similar but
short-petioled. Flowers 1½—2 inches broad, peduncled, the peduncles
much elongated in fruit; sepals spreading, 6—7, oval-obtuse, white, the
outside usually blue at the base; fruit of long plumose tailed achenes
in a globular fluffy head.
Frequent throughout the Rockies at an elevation of 6000 to 10,000 feet,
blossoming on the edges of the snow banks as they recede, a conspicuous
feature of many an alpine meadow during early June.
[Sidenote: =Thalictrum megacarpum= Torr. _Veiny Meadow Rue._]
Smooth, pale green, and glaucous; stem purplish, erect, 6—18 inches
tall. Leaves 3—4, ternate, long-petioled, leaflets firm, obovate,
rounded at the apex, wedge-shaped or subcordate at the base, ¼—½ an
inch long, 3—5-lobed, the lower surface prominently veined. Flowers
diœcious, with 4 or 5 small, purplish-green sepals and large, linear,
wedge-shaped anthers or slender styles; the achenes wedge-shaped and
tapering into a short beak.
A frequent plant in the dry open valleys in the Rockies at the lower
altitudes; flowering in June.
[Sidenote: =Thalictrum occidentale= A. Gray. _Western Meadow Rue._]
Stems slender, 1—3 feet high. Leaves 2—4, ternate, the lowest petioled;
leaflets thin, ¼ to nearly an inch long, 3—9 lobed at the summit,
sparingly glandular-hairy beneath. Flowers diœcious, nodding on very
slender pedicels in an ample open panicle; calyx of 4—8 sepals which
soon fall, filaments purplish and slender; anthers linear and pointed;
achenes lanceolate or somewhat sickle-shaped, nearly half an inch long.
Frequent in rich woods and moist shady places at the lower altitudes
throughout the Rockies; flowering in June, like the previous species
striking for its leaves, resembling a robust maiden-hair fern, and the
large loose heads of delicate tasselled flowers.
[Illustration: Thalictrum megacarpum Torr. (⅓ Nat.)]
[Illustration: Thalictrum occidentale A. Gray. (⅓ Nat.) Western Meadow
Rue.]
[Sidenote: =Batrachium trichophyllum= (Chaix.) Bossch. _White Water
Crowfoot._]
Aquatic herb with submerged stems, a foot long or more. Leaves
petioled, 1—2 inches long, finely dissected. Flowers white with yellow
centre, ½—¾ of an inch broad, blooming on the surface of the water on
stout pedicels 1—2 inches or more long.
Frequent throughout the Rockies at the lower altitudes in shallow ponds
and ditches; flowering in June and July.
[Sidenote: =Ranunculus Purshii= Richards. _Pursh’s Buttercup._]
Aquatic or creeping, hairy, at least on the younger parts. Leaves
slender-petioled, ¼—1 inch, wide, palmately divided nearly to the base,
into obtuse lobes. Flowers less than ½ an inch broad, bright yellow;
petals 5; head of fruit globose, a little less than ¼ of an inch broad.
Frequent in shallow pools throughout the Rockies; flowering throughout
the summer.
[Sidenote: =Ranunculus reptans= L. _Creeping Spearwort._]
Stems creeping, rooting at the joints; flowering stems and peduncles
ascending. Leaves linear-lanceolate or spatulate ½—2 inches long,
entire, gradually narrowed into the petiole. Flowers nearly half an
inch broad, solitary, on peduncles ¾—2 inches long; petals 4—7, much
exceeding the calyx; stamens numerous; achenes flat.
On muddy shores of ponds and streams throughout the Rockies, flowering
in midsummer, the creeping stems frequently interlaced and forming
dense mats.
[Illustration: _a_ Ranunculus eremogenes Greene. Ditch Crowfoot.
_b_ Ranunculus Purshii Richards. (⅓ Nat.) Pursh’s Buttercup.]
[Illustration: Ranunculus inamœnus Greene. (⅓ Nat.)]
[Sidenote: =Ranunculus pedatifidus= J. E. Smith. _Northern Buttercup._]
Erect 4—12 inches high, branching. Basal leaves petioled, broadly ovate
or nearly orbicular, about ¾ of an inch broad, crenate or often lobed,
those of the stem deeply and narrowly lobed, nearly sessile. Flowers
about ⅓ of an inch in diameter, petals little surpassing the spreading
sepals.
In moist shaded situations near Banff; flowering in June.
[Sidenote: =Ranunculus eremogenes= Greene. _Ditch Crowfoot._]
Stem branching, more or less hairy, 6—18 inches high, sparingly leafy.
Leaves rounded in outline, mostly 5-parted, the segments cut into about
3-toothed lobes. Flowers of ¼ an inch or more broad, the light yellow
petals surpassing the sepals; fruit in an obtusely ovoid head.
In wet springy places, ditches and the margins of pools, frequent
through the Rockies at the lower altitudes; flowering in June and July.
[Sidenote: =Ranunculus Eschscholtzii= Schl. _Snow Buttercup._]
Smooth, 3—12 inches high, 1—3-flowered. Leaves round in outline,
those at the root all 3—5-parted and deeply cut; their obovate or
wedge-shaped divisions mostly lobed or narrowly cut, stem-leaves
similar with oblong to spatulate or lanceolate, often entire divisions.
Flowers bright yellow; petals 5, a third of an inch or more long.
Frequent at the higher altitudes, blooming close to the melting snow,
throughout the region; flowering in June and July.
[Sidenote: =Ranunculus alpeophilus= A. Nelson.]
Similar in habit to the previous species though usually larger, bright
green and nearly smooth throughout. Leaves sparingly hairy on the
margins, the basal broader and less divided. Flowers pale yellow, ¼ of
an inch or more broad; petals little longer than the calyx.
Along streams and in moist grounds, an alpine species frequent
throughout the Rockies; flowering in June and July.
[Illustration: _a_ Ranunculus saxicola Rydb.
_b_ Ranunculus alpeophilus A. Nelson. (½ Nat.)]
[Illustration: Ranunculus Eschscholtzii Schl. (⅔ Nat.) Snow Buttercup.]
[Sidenote: =Ranunculus saxicola.= Rydb.]
Stems about 4 inches long, decumbent or ascending, smooth. Basal leaves
on petioles 2 inches long, rounded, somewhat hairy when young, 3-lobed,
lobes spreading and toothed, stem-leaves 1—3, nearly sessile, cleft
into 3—7 linear lobes. Flowers about ½ an inch broad, sepals tinged
with brown, half the length of the petals, broad, obovate, obtuse,
slightly hairy; petals broadly obovate, bright yellow; achenes more or
less hairy, with a straight style.
Throughout the Rockies in stony ground at the higher altitudes;
flowering in July.
[Sidenote: =Ranunculus inamœnus.= Greene.]
Stems rather stout, 6—12 inches high, slightly hairy. Root leaves
on short petioles, rounded, crenate-toothed or 3-lobed, stem leaves
sessile and cut into 3—6 oblong-lanceolate segments. Flowers ¼ of
an inch or more broad, usually several together on short slender
peduncles; petals obovate-oblong, light yellow; achenes small, hairy.
In open ground sparingly throughout the Rockies at the lower
elevations; flowering in June.
[Sidenote: =Ranunculus Suksdorfii= A. Gray.]
Stem 3—6 inches high, smooth, slender, 1—3-flowered. Leaves ½ an inch
or more long, sub-reniform or broadly fan-shaped with wedge-shaped
base, deeply 3—5-cleft or parted, the radical into cuneate 3—5-cleft
or incised divisions, those of the stem linear. Flowers bright yellow;
petals round-obovate, ⅓—½ an inch long.
In moist ground on slopes, throughout the Rockies; flowering in June.
[Sidenote: =Ranunculus eximius= Greene. _Low Buttercup._]
Stems hairy, 6—10 inches high, branching. Leaves few, basal, rounded
in outline, ternately lobed, sometimes deeply so, on slender petioles;
stem leaves sessile or nearly so, cut into narrowly linear or
linear-lanceolate lobes. Flowers ¾ of an inch or more broad, petals
spreading, bright yellow and shining on the upper surface; sepals not
reflexed.
A showy low buttercup in the dry open valleys in the Rockies; flowering
in June.
[Illustration: Aquilegia brevistyla Hook. (¾ Nat.) Small Blue
Columbine.]
[Sidenote: =Ranunculus montanensis= Rydb. _Meadow Buttercup._]
Stem stout, 1—2 feet high, branching with long rough hairs. Basal
leaves long, hairy all over, 3-parted, the divisions again divided or
cut into linear or lanceolate segments; petioles 3 or 4 inches long;
stem-leaves similar but short petioled. Flowers few, large; sepals
broadly ovate with silky hairs; petals broadly ovate, nearly half
an inch long, bright yellow; head of achenes, globose; style long,
slender, and much curved.
Frequent in the Rockies at the lower altitudes in more or less shaded
grassy situations; flowering in June and July.
[Sidenote: =Halerpestes Cymbalaria= (Pursh.) Green. _Creeping
Crowfoot._]
Stems creeping and rooting at the joints, 1—7-flowered. Leaves broadly
ovate, coarsely crenate, clustered at the base and joints of the long
slender runners. Flowers ¼ of an inch across; petals light yellow,
longer than the sepals; fruit in oblong heads.
A common species throughout the Rockies in damp ground, frequently
forming mats several feet across; flowering continuously throughout the
summer.
[Sidenote: =Caltha leptosepala= Hook. _White Marsh Marigold._]
Stems erect, 2—12 inches high, 1—2-flowered. Leaves roundish or
oblong-cordate, longer than broad, irregularly crenate-toothed; sepals
6—8, lanceolate, ¾ of an inch long, white, strongly suffused with blue
on the outside; stamens numerous; pistils 5—15.
In springy ground and wet alpine meadows throughout the region, often
growing in such abundance as to make the meadows brilliant with the
blue and white flowers, which appear soon after the snow has left the
ground in June and July.
[Sidenote: =Trollius albiflorus= (A. Gray.) Rydb. _Western
Globe-flower._]
Stem erect, 6—12 inches high, more or less branching. Leaves palmately
divided, the segments many cleft. Flowers solitary, 1—1½ inches broad,
subtended by a whorl of leaves; sepals broadly obovate 5—6, pure white
tinged on the back with greenish rose; petals 15—20, less than ¼ of an
inch long, narrowly truncate, bright yellow, nearly concealed by the
numerous stamens.
One of the most abundant and conspicuous of the spring flowers of
the alpine meadows, and marshy borders of alpine streams and lakes,
commencing to flower when but a few inches high on the edges of the
melting snow in May and June.
[Illustration: _a_ Caltha leptosepala Hook.
_b_ Trollius albiflorus (A. Gray) Rydb. Western Globe-Flower. (⅔
Nat.)]
[Sidenote: =Aquilegia brevistyla= Hook. _Small Blue Columbine._]
One to two feet high, slender, sparingly branched. Leaves, the basal
long-petioled, biternate, lobed and crenate, the stem leaves few,
nearly sessile and lobed. Flowers ½ an inch or more long, nodding,
sepals blue, petals creamy-white with a short blue spur not more than ¼
of an inch long; styles and stamens hardly exceeding the petals.
In open rocky situations, rather local, common in the region around
Banff, flowering in May and June.
[Sidenote: =Aquilegia flavescens= S. Wats. _Yellow Columbine._]
Stems smooth, 1—3 feet high, branched. Leaves ternate, leaflets
round-cordate, 3-parted, the segments coarsely toothed, 2—3-cleft.
Flowers yellow, an inch or more long, nodding; sepals reflexed,
oblong-ovate, acute, longer than the spurs; petals spreading with a
spur half an inch long; styles and stamens nearly equal, much exserted.
The commonest columbine throughout the region, growing in woods and on
slopes up to 8000 feet, varying greatly in colour; flowering in June
and July according to the elevation.
[Sidenote: =Aquilegia formosa= Fisch. _Western Columbine._]
Stem 2—4 feet high, branching, sparingly pubescent with spreading
hairs. Leaves, the lower triternately parted on long petioles, the
upper sessile and ternate or reduced to simple bracts, leaflets broadly
wedge-shaped, 3-cleft. Flowers scarlet, drooping, more than an inch
long; sepals scarlet varying to orange, spreading or reflexed, an inch
long, lanceolate, acute; petals yellow, more or less spreading, with
a scarlet spur about the length of the sepals; styles and stamens
exserted.
Throughout the Selkirks, in moist ground, on slopes and borders of
rocky alpine streams, flowering during July and late June.
[Illustration: _a_ Aquilegia flavescens S. Wats. Yellow Columbine.
_b_ Aquilegia formosa Fisch. Western Columbine. (⅔ Nat.)]
[Sidenote: =Delphinium Brownii= Rydb. _Western Larkspur._]
Stem tall, 2—5 feet high, leafy. Leaves mostly orbicular in outline,
5—7-parted, the upper into narrow-cleft, laciniate divisions, petioled.
Flowers nodding, less than an inch long, dull purple, bluish or
occasionally white, numerous in an elongated spike; sepals 5, blue, ⅓
of an inch long, not spreading, the upper one prolonged into a spur,
half an inch long; petals white, nearly as long as the sepals.
Frequent in the region around Banff in open woods at the lower
altitudes, flowering in July.
[Sidenote: =Delphinium Menziesii= DC. _Blue Larkspur._]
Sparingly leafy, 10—18 inches tall, from a tuberous rootstock. Leaves,
the lowest round reniform, cut into irregular, oblong, obtuse lobes,
the upper with linear, acute lobes. Flowers few in a simple panicle,
sepals lanceolate, obtuse, ¾ of an inch or more long, spreading,
brilliant blue, about as long as the short curved spur; petals
exserted, white with purple veins.
Throughout the region in open ground and on grassy slopes; flowering in
early June or later according to the altitude.
[Sidenote: =Actæa arguta= Nutt. _Western Red Baneberry._]
Stems erect, 2—3 feet high, smooth except the inflorescence. Leaves
large, ternately compound, the basal leaf long-petioled, the divisions
long petioled and pinnate, leaflets ovate, 1½—5 inches long, cut with
sharp teeth. Raceme ovoid, 1—2 inches long; flowers small, white, with
petal-like sepals; petals, 4—10 spatulate and minute; stamens numerous;
berries in a spreading raceme, small, spherical, and purplish red.
Frequent in the rich woods throughout the region, at the lower
altitudes; flowering in late May and early June.
[Illustration: Delphinium Brownii Rydb. (½ Nat.) Mountain Larkspur.]
[Illustration: Anemone globosa Nutt. (⅓ Nat.) Wind-Flower.]
[Sidenote: =Actæa eburnea= Rydb. _Western White Baneberry._]
Similar to the preceding species and often growing with it and
difficult to distinguish from it when in flower: in fruit, however,
they are quite distinct. In A. eburnea the berries are fully twice as
large, nearly half an inch long and a quarter of an inch in diameter
and pure waxy white.
In rich moist woods throughout the Rockies; flowering with the other
species in May and early June; fruiting in late July.