POLYANDRIA— POLYGYNIA. Ranunculus. 55 



Fine Water Crowfoot. Pet. H. Brit. t. 39./. 2. 



y. Ranunculus aquaticus albus, circinatis tenuissime divisis foliis, 



floribus ex alls longis pediculis innixis. Rail Syn. 249. Pluk. 



Almag.3i\. Phyt. t. 55. f.2. 

 R. circinatus. Sibth.l75. 

 R. pantothrix /3. DeCand. Syst.v. 1. 236. 

 R. n. 1 1 62 /3. Hall. Hist, v 2. 69. 

 Fine trimmed Water Crowfoot. Pet. H Brit. t. 39./. 3. 

 $. Ranunculo, sive Polyanthemo aquatili albo affine, Millefolium 



Maratriphyllon fluitans. Bauh. Hist. v. 3.774./. Raii Syn. 250. 



Fl. Dan. t. 376. 

 Ranunculus fluviatilis. Wigg. Holsat. 42. Sibth. 176. Abbot 123. 



Willd.v.2. 1333. 

 R. pantothrix y.. DeCand. Syst. v. 1 . 236. 

 R. n. 1161. Hall. Hist. V. 2. 68. 

 Fennel Water Crowfoot. Pet. H. Brit. t. 39./. 4. 

 Foeniculus aquaticus, Dalech.Hist. 1023./ 



In ditches and ponds every where. $ in rivers. 



Perennial. May, June. 



The natural state of this species is when it mantles the surface of 

 still pools or ditches with its lobed floating leaves, and abun- 

 dance of white^owers, yellow in the middle, the branched sterns 

 throwing out long fibrous roots from their lower joints, and the 

 leaves which are under water being repeatedly divided, in a 

 threefold manner, into narrow, linear, acute segments. The 

 Jlowers are solitary, on long stalks, opposite to the leaves. Cal. 

 smooth, deciduous. Pet. obovate, twice as long as the calyx, 

 with a tubular nectary in the middle of the yellow claw. Seeds 

 numerous, in a round head, obovate, transversely wrinkled j 

 more or less hairy, or minutely bristly, especially in the varie- 

 ties. /3 has all the leaves cut as above mentioned, and im- 

 mersed in the water 3 but any person who throws it out into a 

 shallow puddle, early in the summer, will soon, I believe, see 

 broad leaves produced, y, from whatever cause, bears smaller, 

 neater, rounded, very finely cut leaves. ^, floating in a strong 

 or rapid stream, has all its leaves dissected and lengthened out 

 by the water, and can but rarely flower. I agree with Prof. 

 Hooker that the hairiness of the seeds is no constant mark ; for 

 after having long ago thought it such, I have been obliged to 

 give up that point. See Rees's Cyclopcedia. I cannot but won- 

 der at those otherwise able botanists, who seeing these varieties 

 produced under their eyes, with the evident cause of each con- 

 tinually acting, can consider them as species. 



R.Jluvia tills of Dr. Bigelow in his Boston Flora, 139, is indeed a 

 totally different species, of much larger dimensions, with all the 

 leaves finely and coj)iou?-.ly subdivided, bright ycllow//oit'tTA-, and 

 minutely wrinkled seeds, terminating in compressed upright 

 beaks, as long as them.^elves. 



