Tas. 4585. 
RANUNCULUS $spicatus. 
Spike-fruited Crowfoot. 
Nat. Ord. RANUNCULACEZ.—POLYANDRIA POLYGYNIA. 
Gen. Char. Calyx 5-sepalus, sepalis basi non solutis deciduis. Petala 5, rarius 
10, intus basi squamula foveolari nectarifera instructa. Stamina ovariaque plu- 
rima; caryopsides ovate, subcompresse, in mucronem aut cornu semine vix — 
longius desinentes, leves, striate, aut tuberculate, in capitulum globosum cylin- 
draceumve dispositee. De Cand. 
Ranuncutus (§ Ranunculastrum) spicatus; foliis subhirsutis, radicalibus petio- 
latis orbiculatis trilobis imis 5-lobis dentatis, summis 3-partitis lobis in- 
tegris linearibus, caule erecto paucifloro, calyce patente, carpellorum spica 
elongata cylindrica. 
Ranuncvuvs spicatus. Desf. Fl. Atlant. v.1. p. 438. ¢.115. De Cand. Prodr. 
v. 1. p.29. Spreng. Syst. Veget. v. 2. p. 646. 
Ranuncutvs Olyssiponensis. Pers. Syn. Pl. v. 2. p. 106. 
R. Lusitanicus, grumosa radice, &c. Tourn. Institut. 286. 
In the too great admiration of tropical botany, the hardy 
herbaceous plants of cooler regions are often lost sight of. 
The present Ranunculus has a place probably in few gardens, 
yet would prove an ornament to any, with its large showy and 
peculiarly glossy bright flowers, which moreover appear as early 
as April. It was first detected and described by Desfontaines 
as a native of Algiers, where it appears to be very common on 
the hills. We possess specimens also from Gibraltar, gathered 
by our friend Dr. Lemann. Like other species of Crowfoot, it 
is liable to vary in size and in the outline of its leaves: but our 
figure well represents the ordinary appearance of the species. 
The specific name is best understood at a later period, when the 
receptacle of capsules runs out in a long cylindrical’ spike. 
Descr. Root grumose, consisting of a dense cluster of fusiform 
fleshy fibres or tubers mixed with many capillary roots. Stem a 
foot or more high (less in its wild state), hirsute with short 
spreading soft hairs. Leaves more or less hairy: the lower ones 
JUNE lst, 1851. 
