RA NUNCULACE^E. [ Clematis. 



Subclass I. THALAMIFLORiE. Be Cand. 



Calyx of many sepals or pieces (sometimes combined at 

 the base). Petals many, distinct, and as well as the stamens, 

 inserted upon the receptacle, not upon the calyx; hence hypo- 

 gynous, (from vttcj, beneath and ryww, the pistil.) 



Ord. 1. RANUNCULACEiE. Jitss. Ranunculus, or Crow- 

 foot Family. 



Perianth double, free, hypogynous (inserted below the Ger- 

 mens or Ovaries). Sepals 3 — 6, usually 5. Petals equal in 

 number to the sepals, or double or triple, free, with an imbri- 

 cated aestivation, rarely none, sometimes formed of the dilated 

 filaments, and then plane, sometimes from the transformed an- 

 thers, and then cuculate. Stamens free, indefinite: anthers ad- 

 nate in the true species of Ranunculus and reversed. Pistils 

 many, inserted upon the receptacle, rarely, by imperfection, or 

 by their union, solitary. Carpels (small clustered pericarps) 

 either achenia, berries capsules or follicles, one — or many- 

 seeded. Seeds sometimes solitary and erect, or pendulous, some- 

 times many arranged on each side in series, along the margins 

 of the carpels. Albumen horny, large. Embryo very minute. 

 Herbs, undershrubs, or climbing shrubs. Roots fasciculate, gra- 

 nulated or fibrous. Leaves alternate or in the Clematide^ op- 

 posite, often variously divided, their bases dilated into a semiam- 

 plexicaul sheath, simple. Hairs none, or simple. 



The plants of this order are usually acrid and poisonous, and 

 some have a powerful epispastic effect, and when applied to the 

 skin, produce ulcers which are difficult to heal. 



§ Genuine Ranunculacece. 



1. Clematis. Linn. Traveller's Joy. 



Sepals 4 — 8, coloured. Petals none, or shorter than the sepals. 

 Pericarps (Cariopsides) numerous, terminating in a bearded 

 tail. — Roots perennial. Leaves exactly opposite. Name from 

 KXn/ua, the shoot of a vine, which its long branches somewhat 

 resemble. Polyandria. Polygynia. 



1. C Vitalba,lAxir\. Common Traveller's Joy. Stem climb- 

 ing ; leaves pinnate ; leaflets cordato-ovate, inciso-lobate ; pe- 

 tioles twining; peduncles rather shorter than the leaves. Br. 

 Fl. \.p. 263. E.Fl. v. m. p. 39. E. Bot.t. 612. 



Very abundant in woods at Baronston, County of Westmeath, 

 climbing to the tops of the highest trees, where it has probably been 

 planted ; Mr. John Bain. Hedges near Raheny, and other places in 



