Ranunculus.| RANUNCULACES. 23 
98. R. Cheesemanii, 7. Kirk, Students’ Fl. 17.—Stems much 
branched, stout, grooved, prostrate, often rooting at the nodes, 
sparingly strigose-pubescent, especially on the leaf-sheaths. Radical 
and cauline leaves alike; petioles very short, broadly sheathing at 
the base ; blade 4-2 in. diam., broadly cuneate, 3-lobed or -toothed 
at the tip; surfaces glabrous or nearly so. Peduncles axillary, 
4-1in. long. Flowers not seen. Fruiting-receptacle small, gla- 
brous, papillose. Achenes few, turgid, glabrous; style short, 
straight or hooked. 
SoutH Isuanp: Nelson—Fowler’s Pass, 3000 ft., in places where water has. 
stagnated, Kirk ! 
A very curious little plant. Although so dissimilar in general appearance, 
I have little doubt that it is a mere state of R. foliosus, which often shows a 
tendency to creep, and with which it agrees in the position of the peduncles, 
achenes, &c. 
29. R. ternatifolius, 7. Kirk wn Trans. N.Z. Inst. x. (1878) 
App. 29.—Slender, sparingly pilose with long weak hairs, 1-4 in. 
high. Stems or branches numerous, long, weak, procumbent or 
prostrate, often rooting at the nodes, sometimes interlaced and 
matted. Leaves on long slender petioles 1-3in. long; blade 
8-foliolate or 3-ternate, primary leaflets on long petiolules, 
‘segments small, entire or 3-lobed, acute. Peduncles +-1in. long., 
usually on the branches opposite the leaves. Flowers minute, 
21in. diam. Sepals 5, ovate, pilose, membranous. Petals 5, 
linear-oblong, clawed at the base, with a single gland above the 
claw. Achenes 5-10, slightly compressed, glabrous; style short, 
stout, hooked at the tip.—Students’ Fl. 18. R. trilobatus, Kirk um 
Trans. N.Z. Inst. ix. 547 (not of Kit.). 
Sourn Istanp : Canterbury—Source of the Broken River, 7. F.C. Otago— 
Swampy Hill, Port Molyneux, Catlin’s River, Petrie! Makarewa, Winton, 
Centre Hill, Kirk ! Sea-level to 3500 ft. December-—February. 
30. R. depressus, 7’. Kirk in Trans. N.Z. Inst. xii. (1880) 393.— 
Small, depressed, rarely more than 1} in. high, more or less clothed 
with long straight hairs, usually forming matted patches. Root- 
stock short, often giving off short stolons, in large specimens some- 
times branched at the top. Leaves numerous, all radical, on 
decurved petioles 4-14 in. long with broad sheathing bases; blade 
very variable in size and cutting, +-2in. long, ovate in outline, 
usually trifoliolate with the leaflets ternately or pinnately cut into 
narrow-linear segments, sometimes less divided, 3-lobed with 
broader segments, or occasionally nearly entire. Scapes stout, much 
shorter than the leaves, 1-flowered. Sepals 5, ovate, membranous. 
Petals 5, oblong, slightly exceeding the sepals, with a gland just 
above the base. Carpels few, 4-8, hidden among the leaves, ovate, 
slightly turgid; style very minute.—Kirk, Students’ Fl. 17. 
: Var. glabratus, Kirk, 1.c.—Smaller and nearly glabrous. Leaves minute, 
3-lobed, lobes flat, acutely pointed. Achenes smaller. 
