Numerous; on a receptacle. Ovaries flattened. Stigmas recurved. Hab.—Throughout Western California into Oregon.
"The buttercup catches the sun in its chalice; And there's never a leaf nor a blade too mean To be some happy creature's palace."
The first clear, beautiful note of a lark has been heard; skies are blue and fields are green; little frogs are filling the air with their music;—and the buttercups are here. The fields are full of them, and their bright golden eyes starring the meadows, bring a gladness to the face of nature. The children wade knee-deep in their gold, filling their hands with treasure; and yonder, where their golden masses cover the slopes, King Midas may have passed, transforming the earth with his magical touch.
Because some of the buttercups grow where frogs abound, Pliny bestowed the Latin name Ranunculus, meaning "little frog."
The Indians, who seem to have a use for everything, parch the seeds of our common buttercup and beat them to a flour, which they eat without the further formality of cooking. This flour is said to have the peculiar rich flavor of parched corn.
We have a number of other species of buttercup—some of them denizens of marshy spots; but the common field buttercup is widest-spread and best known.
CREAM-CUPS.
Platystemon Californicus, Benth. Poppy Family.
Delicate hairy herbs. Stems.—A span or two high. Leaves.—Mostly opposite; sessile; two to four inches long. Flowers.—Axillary; long-peduncled; an inch or so across. Sepals.—Three; falling early. Petals.—Six, in two rows; cream-color, often with a yellow spot at base. Stamens.—Numerous. Filaments broad; petaloid. Pistils.—Six to twenty-five; united in a ring at first; afterward separating. Stigmas terminal. Hab.—Throughout California.