Contractions. - Ran-s. Rn-s.

Ranunculus sceleratus. Nat. ord., Ranunculaceae.

Synonym. - Herba sardoa.

Fig. - Eng. Bot., t. 681.

Marsh Crowfoot, Celery-leaved Buttercup. For. names: German, Gifthahnenfuss; French, Herbe sardonique, Grenouillette d'eau.

Habitat. - Sides of pools and wet ditches. Over nearly the whole of Europe and Russian and Central Asia. Pretty common in Britain.

Flowering time. - Summer.

Parts employed. - The fresh herb.

Characters. - Erect, much branched, annual, 1 to 2 feet high, glabrous, or nearly so. Stem thick and hollow. Leaves, lower ones stalked, divided into 3 or more obtusely toothed or lobed segments; upper ones sessile, with 3 narrow segments. Flowers small and numerous, petals pale yellow, scarcely longer than the calyx. Carpels very small and numerous in a dense head, which becomes oblong as the fruit ripens.

Time for collecting. - When in flower.

Preparation. - Tincture, corresponding in alcoholic strength with proof spirit. It should be frequently prepared and carefully preserved.

Reference to Horn. Proving. - Stapf's Beitrage.

Proper forms for dispensing. - φ and lx, Tincture only. 1 and upwards, Tincture, Pilules, or Globules.

Average loss of moisture, 80 per cent.