Domestic Encyclopædia (1802)/Spearwort, the Great

SPEARWORT, the great, or Ranunculus Lingua, L. an indigenous perennial, growing in wet pastures, and at the sides of lakes: it flowers in the months of June and July.—The stem of this poisonous plant is very thick, and attains the height of two feet; the leaves have no stalks; and the large bright-yellow, glossy flowers, appear on the extremities of the shoots. The whole is extremely acrid, and if any part of this herb be eaten by cattle in a fresh state, it is apt to produce fatal distempers.