NOTES AND QUERIES. 



59 



every collection of Alpine Plants, its 

 neat habit and showy flowers, and 

 above all its early blooming, have 

 won for it the admiration of all lovers 

 of early spring flowers. I have met 

 with it in my rambles on several 

 occasions with semi-double flowers, 

 and have cultivated the double flow- 

 ered var. for the last twenty years, 

 and, as remarked by Mr. Sim, I have 

 never seen any thing like stamens 

 in the double flowers. A fortnight 

 ago I picked up two other plants 

 with semi-double flowers, viz. : Ra- 

 nunculus repens and Ranunculus acris. 

 R. repens with one flower open con- 

 taining six stamens ; the others 

 converted into ovate and lanceolate 

 petals. In the flowers of R. acris 

 in jDlace of the stamens there sprung 

 from the centre of the flower ano- 

 ther peduncle supporting a flower 

 bud. The two plants I removed from 

 the field to the garden, and by this 

 means I shall have an ojpportunity 

 of observing any change that takes 

 place. The yellow Bachelor's But- 

 tons so often seen in cottage gardens 

 is a sport from the normal condition 

 of Ranunculus acris ; this also was 

 cultivated in the year 1683 under 

 the name of Ranunculus Pratensis 

 erectus acris fiore joleno ; or double 

 flowered upright meadow crowfoot. 

 At present the jDlant is known by the 

 name of Ranunculus acris fiore pleno. 

 I might mention other sports from 

 the normal form in the Ranunculus 



family, but will leave them for some 

 future occasion. — W. Guthrie, Fix- 

 by Park, June 4th, 1864. 



Double varieties of Wild Plants.—" 

 I have read with interest the remarks 

 of Mr. Sim upon the double variety 

 of Ranunculus Ficaria he found. Al- 

 though! have never seen this species 

 of Crowfoot with double flowers, yet, 

 in May, 1861, at the Northwick 

 Walk Fields, Harrow, I discovered 

 several fine plants of R. repens com- 

 pletely double. The flowers retain- 

 ed this peculiarity throughout 1869, 

 when unfortunately in the early part 

 of last year they were destroyed, 

 owing to some alterations which were 

 being made in the field path. Ano- 

 ther member of the natural order 

 Pianunculacece, Anemone nemorosa, I 

 found growing with double flowers 

 last month in a wood at Harrow ; I 

 send a specimen to the Editors of 

 the " Naturalist " for inspection. 

 The whole plant looks larger and 

 more luxuriant than is ordinary. A 

 large colony of them was growing 

 in the shade; I should consider that 

 extra richness of soil has doubtless 

 produced the monstrosity (if I may 

 be permitted to use the term) in both 

 this and the R. repens, and most 

 likely the same has caused the jpecu- 

 liar formation of Mr. Sim's R. 

 Ficaria. Again, whilst discussing 

 the peculiar forms of Ranunculi, 

 might I enquire if any of your 

 readers have ever seen a form of 



