Ran ALES.] 



RANUNCULACEiE. 



425 



Order CLIV. RANUNCULACEiE.— Crowfoots. 



Ranunculi, Jiiss. Gen. (1789).— Ranunculaceae, DC. Spst.l. 127. (1818) ; Prudr. 1. 2 ; Bartluui Ord. 25.3. 

 Endl Gen. clxxviii. ; Meisner Gen. ]i. i ; Wight Illustr. 1. p. 1. — PodophyllaceEe, § Podophyllea', 

 DC. Syst. 2. 32. (1821) ; Prodr. 1. 111.— Podophyllese, Mart. Conspect. No. 171. (1835). 



DiAGiNOSis. — Banal Exogem, with distinct carpels, no sejxirate stipules, an imbncated 

 corolla, homorjeneous albumen, and seeds loitkout an aril. 



Herbs, or rarely shrubs. Leaves alternate or opposite, generally much divided, with 

 the petiole dilated and forming a sheath half clasping the stem. Stipule-hke processes 

 occasionally present. Hairs, if any, simple. Inflorescence variable. Flowers usually cou- 



.spicuous ; if apetalous, then 

 with the sepals large and gaily 

 colom'ed. Sepals 3-6, hypo- 

 gynous, deciduous, generally 

 imbricate in aestivation, oc- 

 casionally valvate or dupli- 

 cate. Petals 3-15, hiy-pogy- 

 nous, in one or more rows, 

 distinct, sometimes deform- 

 ed, in some cases missing. 

 Stamens 00, (very rarely de- 

 finite,) hypogynous ; anthers 

 adnate. Carpels numerous, 

 1 -celled or united into a 

 single many-celled pistil ; 

 ovary one or more- seeded, 

 the ovules sutural ; styles 

 simple ; ovules anatropal. 

 FiTiit either consisting of dry 

 akenia ; or baccate with one 

 or more seeds ; or follicular 

 with one or two valves. 

 Seeds albuminous ; when so- 

 Utary, either erect or pendu- 

 lous. Embryo minute. Al- 

 bumen horny. 



Under the name of Crow- 

 foots is collected a very con- 

 siderable number of plants, 

 differing from each other 

 materially in the natui'e of 

 theu' calyx and corolla, but 

 very similar otherwise. Some 

 of them have perfectly dis- 

 tinct sepals and petals, in 

 others these parts seem com- 

 pletely blended together, as in Caltha and 

 Anemone ; in others it is manifest that 

 the former only are present, as m Clema- 

 tis. These too, which have thch' parts 

 quite distinct, vary greatly from the real 

 Crowfoots in their natm*e, the calyx or 

 corolla being extended into spiu-s, and 

 assuming a very irregular condition in 

 Fig. CCXCV. variousways, asm the Clematis andLark- 



spurs. It is, however, very interesting to find the spm-red irregular-flowered plants of 

 this Order assimilated with the regular spurless species by means of Ranimculus acauUs, 

 an Antarctic species, the petals of which have a socket in their middle, evidently antici- 

 pating the spurs of Aquilegia, &c. 



The Order has a strong affinity with some wluch are widely apart from each 

 other. Its most immediate resemblance is with Dilleniads, Magnoliads, and their 



Fig. CCXCV.— 1. Ranunculus bulbosus ; 2. pistil of Ranunculus reptans ; 3. a perpendicular section of 

 one of its carpels ; 4. a similar section of its ripe achaenium. 



