THE FLORA OF THE NILGIRl 

 AND PULNEY HILL-TOPS. 



RANUNCULACE/E. 



The predominant feature of the flower of this family 

 is the spiral arrangement on a convex centre (torus) of 

 the numerous stamens and carpels, the latter being quite 

 free of each other even in fruit. The flowers may be 

 solitary at the ends of the branches, or in cymes, or 

 occasionally in racemes ; and are usually showy. Often 

 there is no marked difference between the sepals and 

 petals, the former being coloured ; and in some genera 

 there are no petals, the sepals supplying all the colour, 

 as in Clematis and Anemone. The plants are mostly 

 perennial herbs with stout rootstocks and alternate, 

 mostly radical, leaves which are often characterized by 

 a sheathing base to the stalk and irregularly parallel or 

 palmate venation ; but Clematis is an exception. Among 

 garden plants are various species of Anemone (includ- 

 ing the Hepaticas), Clematis, Monk's Hood, Larkspur, 

 Poeony, and Columbine. 



The family consists of 70 genera and about 700 species, 

 nearly all in the northern temperate regions, or (a few only) 

 on high mountains in the tropics and south temperate. One 

 species, however, Naravelia zeylanica, DC, allied to the Clematis, 

 grows in Madras. With the exception of these two genera there 

 are only three rare species between the southern highlands of 

 the Western Ghats and the Himalayas : even on the hills of 

 Mysore, Bombay, or the United Provinces. 



