It usually flowers in May, and frequently again in autumn; is a hardy perennial, and easily increased either by seeds or parting its roots. Of what country it is a native, or when it was first introduced, we have yet to learn; we first observed it in a nursery near town, where it is regarded as a very different species. [Illustration] [204] RANUNCULUS ACONITIFOLIUS. MOUNTAIN CROWFOOT, or FAIR MAIDS OF FRANCE. _Class and Order._ POLYANDRIA POLYGYNIA. _Generic Character._ _Cal._ 5-phyllus. _Petala_ 5-intra ungues poro mellifero. _Sem._ nuda. _Specific Character and Synonyms._ RANUNCULUS _aconitifolius_ foliis omnibus quinatis lanceolatis inciso-serratis. _Linn. Syst. Vegetab. ed. 14. Murr. p. 516._ _Ait. Kew. v. 1. p. 267._ RANUNCULUS folio aconiti, flore albo multiplici. _Bauh. Pin. 179._ RANUNCULUS montanus albus flore pleno. The double white mountain Crowfoot. _Park. Parad. p. 219. f. 9._ Double white Bachelors Buttons. _Ger. Herb. p. 812. f. 1._ This is one of those plants which derives its beauty from the multiplication of its petals; in its single state no one would think it deserving of culture as an ornamental plant: when double, few plants come in for a greater share of admiration. It is a native of the Alps of Europe, and flowers in May and June. Was very generally cultivated in our gardens in the times of GERARD and PARKINSON. Like most alpine plants, it requires a pure air, and succeeds best in a situation moderately moist and shady; is a hardy perennial, and may be increased by parting its roots in autumn. In all seasons, with us, its foliage, as well as that of most other Crowfoots, is liable to be disfigured, and sometimes nearly destroyed, by a very small maggot which feeds betwixt, the coats of the leaf, and which ultimately produces a small fly, called by us _Musca Ranunculi_. [205] ANTIRRHINUM ALPINUM. ALPINE TOAD-FLAX. _Class and Order._ DIDYNAMIA ANGIOSPERMIA. _Generic Character._ _Cal._ 5-phyllus. _Cor._ basis deorsum prominens, nectarifera. _Caps._ 2-locularis. _Specific Character and Synonyms._ ANTIRRHINUM _alpinum_ foliis quaternis lineari-lanceolatis glaucis, caule diffuso, floribus racemosis, calcari recto. _Linn. Syst. Vegetab. ed. 14. Murr. p. 556._ _Ait. Hort. Kew. v. 2. p 335._ _Jacq. Fl. Austr. v. 1. t. 58._ ANTIRRHINUM caule procumbente breviter spicato, foliis verticillatis. _Hall. Hist. p. 338._ LINARIA quadrifolia supina. _Bauh. Pin. p. 213._ LINARIA tertia styriaca. _Clus. Hist. 1. p. 322._ Professor JACQUIN, in describing the flowers of this plant, calls them _elegantissimi_; and to one of its varieties HALLER applies the epithet _pulcherrima_: such testimonies in its favour will, we presume, be sufficient to recommend it to our readers.