Ml-. C. C. Babington on the Batrachian Ranunculi. 401 



all placed in one roundish plane not collapsing, peduncles 

 narrowing much exceeding the leaves, flowers large, petals 

 obovate many-nerved nearly contiguous persistent, stamens 

 exceeding the pistils, stigma cylindrical, receptacle oblong, 

 carpels i- ovate compressed rather acute. 



R. circinatus, Sibth. FL Oxon. 1/5; Reichenb. Ft. excia: 719, et 

 Icon. FL Germ. iii. Ran. t. 2 ; Fries, Herb. Norm. ix. 29 (speci- 

 men) ; Eng. Bot. Suppl. t. 2869. 



R. divaricatus, " Sckran/c," Koch, Deutschl. Ft. iv. 152, et Syn. Fl . 

 Germ. ed. 2. 13 ; Godr. Fl. Lor. i. 15, et Fl. de Fr. i. 25. 



R. stagnatilis, Wallr. Sched. Grit. 285. 



R. aquaticus albus, circinatis tenuissime divisis foliis, floribus ex 

 ahs longis pediculis iunixis. Rail Syn. ed. 3. 249. 



Stem submersed, ascending, branched, angular, furrowed, 

 hollow, rooting from the lower joinings. Leaves small, their 

 capillary brassy-green divisions repeatedly forked, but all lying 

 exactly in one plane, which is placed usually at right angles to 

 the stem and has a round outline. Stipules sheathing, ad- 

 pressed, not auricled. Buds obovate, depressed. Sepals ovate, 

 blunt, greenish, tinged with purple towards the tip, the margin 

 broadly diaphanous. Petals 2 or 3 times as long as the calyx, 

 about 9-nerved, white with a yellow claw. Nectary roundish, 

 small, rather strongly bordered below. Stamens 15-20. Style 

 prolonging the inner edge of the ovary. Stigma recurved, but 

 straight. Receptacle narrower than the peduncle both in flower 

 and when bearing carpels. Carpels ultimately rather acute, 

 and tipped with the recurved persistent style. 



The structure of the leaves is sufficient to distinguish this 

 plant from all known Ranunculi. 



Flowering from June to August. 



This plant is not unfrequent. For its distribution in Britain 

 I may refer to Watson's ' Cybelc Britannica.' 



From the remark of IMessrs. Hooker and Arnott (Brit. Fl. 

 ed. 7. p. 7) that they •' cannot believe this to be distinct from 

 the following " {R. aquatilis, including the R. heterophyllus, R. 

 trichophijllus, R. confusus and R. Baudotii of this paper), I ani 

 necessarily led to the conclusion that they have no practical 

 acquaintance with it, and perhaps have paid no attention to it 

 except when preserved in an herbarium. As I have on several 

 occasions received specimens of R. heterophyllus under the name 

 of R. circinatus, when the petioles were shorter than is usual and 

 the leaves small, I presume that it is not so generally known to 

 botanists as its distribution would have rendered probable. It 

 is so constant to its characters, that, even when the water has 

 dried up in its place of growth, it retains its distinctive structure 

 and grows and flowers in the air. 



Ann. 6c May. N. Hist. Ser. 2. Vol. xvi. 27 



