392 Mr. C. C. Babinston on the Batrachian Ranunculi. 



'O 



angular, hollow. Submersed leaves with filiform segments 

 which are rather short, diverge greatly at their trifurcations, 

 less so at the bifurcate divisions : middle branch at the first 

 fork the smallest. Petioles plane-convex, short. Upper leaves 

 nearly or quite sessile. Floating leaves very rare, tripartite ; di- 

 visions stalked, bifid, wedge-shaped, the sides being very nearly 

 straight, except the outer side of the lateral ones, which is 

 slightly but decidedly rounded; middle division much more 

 shortly stalked than the others, or very nearly sessile, usually 

 placed at an angle with the other divisions, and directed down- 

 wards, so as to be always submersed. These tripartite leaves 

 soon decay, and the plant produces beyond them a series of 

 filiformly-divided submersed leaves, similar to those that had 

 preceded them. Petioles of the tripartite leaves rather long, 

 nearly cylindrical. Stipules large, rounded, auricled, ^ to f rds 

 adnate. Peduncles falling short of, or slightly exceeding the 

 leaves, from both kinds of leaves. Buds oblong. Flowers 

 small, star-like. Sepals ovate, very blunt, concave, greenish, 

 dotted with purple, especially towards the edge ; the whole 

 margin diaphanous. Petals distant, white, wedge-shaped, yellow 

 below and slightly clawed, about twice as long as the calyx when 

 full-grown. Nectary round, scarcely at all margined or pro- 

 minent. Stamens fewer than 10, exceeding the pistils. Style 

 prolonging the inner edge of the ovary, short, curved. Carpels 

 blunt, more or less hairy at the end, which is a little inflated so 

 as to have a broad flat edge; base of the style small, rather 

 variable in position, not central nor truly lateral. Receptacle 

 oblong, as thick as the peduncle. Colour of the plant bright 

 green. 



This plant agrees in so many respects with the descriptions of 

 R. Drouetii, and with specimens of that plant obligingly sent to 

 me by my excellent correspondent M. R. Lenormand, that I am 

 led to consider it as belonging to that species, notwithstanding 

 the occasional presence of floating leaves. When those leaves 

 are absent, the English plant appears to be identical with that 

 described as R, Drouetii by Dr. Godron. That botanist places 

 much dependence upon the " style .... insere presque k Vex- 

 tremite du long diametre du pistil :'' such is not the case in our 

 plant, nor is the rudiment of the style central upon the carpel 

 of the French specimens, on some carpels of which it somewhat 

 approaches that position, but upon others it is decidedly lateral. 

 There is similar variety in the position of the apiculus on the 

 carpels of the English plant. 



The presence of flat floating leaves is an apparent objection 

 to the identification of the plants ; but I think that the widen- 

 ing of the divisions of some of the upper leaves, indicating an 



