RANUNCULACE^. (CHOWFOOT FAMILY.) 39 



Carpels ovate, hirsute — February to April — Wet places, from Aintab 

 to Jerusalem. 



4. R.. ficarioides, Bory et Chaub. 2|! Dwarf. Leaves small 

 ovate-cordate, icith obtuse, crenate lohes. Peduncles shorter than 

 leaves. Sepals yellow. Corolla about 0.01 m. broad. Carpels oblong, 

 smooth — March to May — Lebanon, from 500 m. to 1,500. 



§ 3. EURANUNCUIi fJS. or ')J^. Sepals 5. Petals generally yellow, 

 sometimes scarlet, or crimson, or orange-colored, en' ichite. Pore at base of 

 iMals generally covered with a scale. 



Series I. Perennials. 



* Divisions of root grumous. 



t Carpels nearly spherical. Alp)ine p)lards. 



5. R. myosuroide§, Boiss. et Ky. % Dwarf (0.02 to 0.06 m.,) 

 fi^labrescent. Root-leaves 1-2 or more, loith 3-5 oblong, entire, or bifid 

 lobes; stem-leaves 3-parted, or wanting. Flowers 0.007 w. h^oad ; 

 petals elliptical, somewhat longer than sepals. Spike oblong. Carpels 

 smooth, oblong. Style shorter than ovary, straight — May to July — 

 Alpine regions of Lebanon and Antilebanon. 



t t Carpels flattened. 

 \ Root-leaves, oi' all but the lowest, palmately lobed or cut. 

 a. Flowers large, red, or rose-colored, or orange, m' yellow;, or white. 



6. M. Asiaticus, L. % 6Vv*i^\j'Vu Appressed hairy. Lower 

 leaves round, crenate ; the others more or less dissected, 

 with oblong, toothed lobes. Flowers 1-5. Corolla 0.02 m, 

 to 0.06 broad, crimson, or rose-colored, or orange, or yellow, or ichite. 

 Spike 0.02 m., or more in length, dense. Carpels papyraceous. 

 Beak reflexed, shorter than ovary — February to May — Fields, and 

 waste places, Syria and Palestine. Notwithstanding its brilliant 

 flowers, not to be regarded as the " lily of the field.'''' 



Var. tcnuiSo!l>iis, Boiss. Leaves much dissected — With type, 

 b. Flowers medium-s'ized, yellow, or whitish. 



7. R. Spruneriaiiiis, Boiss. 1^ Hirsute. Stem stout, 0.04 m. 

 high, much lyranched. Root-leaves round, with heart-shaped base, and 

 three obtusely lobed divisions. Spike oblong. Carpels triangular-pyra- 

 midal, beset with hairs with a tidyercled base. Beak as long as ovary, 

 straight, or slightly curved, hooked at extremity — May to July — 

 Subalpine regions of Lebanon and Antilebanon, El-Buqa'. 



§. R. I>ama§ceiiu§, Boiss. et Gaill. %. Stem and indument 

 as in last. Root-leaves as in last, with numerous, overlapping, obtuse 

 lobes. Lobes of stem-leaves oblong, obtuse. Spike ovate, at length 

 oblong. Beak curved— ^^rmg — Fields, Aintab to Damascus, and the 

 Buka'. This and the last are probably varieties of R. oxyspermus, 

 M.B. 



9. R. cuiieatus, Boiss. If Villous. Stem slender, 0.25 m. 

 high, withfeio branches. Root leaves round-ovate, with wedge-shaped, 

 or rounded, or heart-shaped base ; lobes not over-lapping. Lobes of 

 stem-leaves linear, acutish. Spike ovate. Beak straight— ^VicarnQX 

 —Alpine regions of Lebanon. 



