RAMPION 



RANUNCULUS 



1497 



RAMPION, HORNED. Pliyteuma. 



RAM'S HEAD. Ci/pripedinm arietinum. 



RAMSTED. Linaria vulgaris. 



RANDIA (Isaac Rand, author of an index of plants 

 cult, at Botanical Gardens of the Society of Apothe- 

 caries at Chelsea, published 1730 and 1739). liubidceo'. 

 A genus of about 100 species of tropical shrubs, trees, 

 and woody climbers. Plants often spiny: Ivs. opposite, 

 obovate- oblong to lanceolate, frequently coriaceous; 

 stipules between the petioles and stem, short, and usu- 

 ally joined together: fls. white, yellow or reddish, small 

 or large, axillary or rarely terminal, solitary, corym- 

 bose, or fascicled: fr. a berry, globose or ovoid, 2-loculed, 

 many-seeded. For distinctions from Mitriostigma and 

 Gardenia, see Gardenia. 



A. Shntbs having spines. 

 dumetdrum, Lam. (R. floribiinda, DC). A small tree 

 or rigid shrub with stout, straight, often long spines: 

 Ivo. 1-2 in. long, short-petioled: fls. white or greenish 

 yellow, fragrant, not large, solitary or rarely 2-3 on a 

 peduncle; corolla %-% in. across: berry globose or 

 ovoid, %-l}4 in. long, yellow. Tropical Asia. Cult, in 

 S. Fla. 



AA. Shrubs or trees without spines. 



B. Corolla-tube % in. long. 

 FitzAlani, F. Muell. A glabrous tree : Ivs. often over 

 6 in. long, shining, obovate-oblong or elliptical, obtuse; 

 petiole rather long: fls. about 1 in. across, in loose, few- 

 fld. cymes or the fertile fls. solitary: fr. globular, 1}4 in. 

 thick or ovoid and longer, hard. Australia. Cult, in Fla. 



BB. Corolla-ttibe 4r-10 in. long, 

 c. Lobes of corolla obtuse. 

 macul&,ta, DC. (Gardenia Stanley clna, Hook.). A 

 much-branched shrub 10-15 ft. high: Ivs. elliptical or 

 obovate-oblong, lK-5 in. long, %-2}4 in. wide, charta- 

 ceous, acuminate, narrowed at base ; petiole usually 

 with glands near its union with the midrib: fls. usually 

 purple with white lobes, solitary, terminal or at ends of 

 short lateral branches, sessile: fr. oval, oblong or glo- 

 bose, pointed, 154-3 in. long. Tropical Africa. R.H. 

 1894:60. B.R. 31:47. B.M. 4185. Gn. 38:773. 



CO. Lobes of corolla acute. 

 Ruiziana, DC. A tender shrub with dark green, lan- 

 ceolate, acute Ivs., and white or pale yellow fls. termi- 

 nal, solitary, sessile: corolla-tube somewhat hairy; lobes 

 spreading: fr. cylindrical, yellow, 10-nerved. Brazil, 

 Peru. F. W. Barclay. 



RAN£)VEA (anagram of Ravenea, and now first pub- 

 lished). Ravenea of Bouch6. Palmdcece. One species 

 of palm allied to Hyophorbe, from which it differs, 

 among other things, in its dwarfer habit, usually dioe- 

 cious flowers, and in the flowers being arranged alter- 

 nately on the short branches of the spadix. Bouche's 

 generic name Ravenea dates from 1878. It appears in 

 Bentham & Hooker (3:883) as Ravenia. In spelling it 

 is so similar to Ravenia of Vellozo, 1825, that the two 

 cannot be distinguished by pronunciation. In the inter- 

 est of perspicuity, therefore, the name is here changed 

 to Ranevea, since both this plant and Ravenia occur 

 in the American trade. 



Hildebrandtii {Ravenea Hildebrandtii, Bouch4). 

 Becoming 8-12 ft. high, but flowering under cultivation 

 when half that height, spineless, erect: Ivs. elliptic-ob- 

 long or ovate-oblong in outline, long-stalked, pinnate, 

 the pinnsB 20 or more pairs and narrow-lanceolate-acute : 

 spadix long-stalked, the staminate recurved and with 

 short densely flowered spreading branches, the pistillate 

 erect with filiform strict branches thickened at the 

 base: fls. pale straw-color, the calyx 3-lobed, the petals 

 3 and joined at the base, the stamens G: fr. black. Co- 

 moro Islands (east of Africa). I.H. 27:403. B.M. 6776. 

 G.F. 4:2.59.— An excellent dwarf palm, described by W. 

 Watson to be "as elegant as Geonoma gracilis and as 

 sturdy as a Kentia. It deserves to take a prominent 

 place among garden palms, its small size, free habit, 

 elegance, good constitution, being all in its favor, while 



2074. Head of 

 a k e n e s of 

 Buttercup. 



in the freedom with which it flowers and produces seed 

 we have an exceptional character among dwarf palms." 

 Perfect flowers are sometimes produced, although the 

 plant is habitually dioecious. Ranevea is one of the 

 most valuable Palms of recent introduction. l_ jj_ b_ 



RANtJNCULUS (Latin diminutive for frog; many of 

 the species grow in wet places). Ranunctildcew. But- 

 tercup. Crowfoot. The genus is by far the largest in 

 the family, comprising fully 200 species. Ninety of 

 these are native or naturalized in North America. Most 

 members of the genus are naturally hardy, being found 

 in mountainous regions and in cold and temperate parts 

 of the globe. 



Generic description: Perennial (rarely annual) herbs: 

 Ivs. alternate, simple, entire, lobed, dissected or divided: 

 fls. yellow, white or red; sepals usually 5, deciduous or 

 marcescent, persistent; petals 5 or more, conspicuous 

 or minute, nectar pit and scale at base; carpels many, 

 1-ovuled; akenes generally flattened, smooth, papillose 

 or spiny, borne in a head or 

 spike; styles minute or elon- 

 gated. For structure of the 

 flower and fruits, see Figs. 

 1874, 2073, 2074. 

 For the botany 

 of the species 

 native to Amer- 

 ica, see the Syn- 

 optical Flora of 

 North America, 

 vol. 1, part 1, 

 fasc. 1, pages 

 20-39. Thewrit- 

 2073. Flower of Buttercup er of the present 

 —Ranunculus acris. article has treat- 



Natural size. ed the wild and 



cultivated spe- 

 cies of America in Minnesota Botanical Studies, series 

 2, part 4, pages 459-508 (1900). 



The cultivated forms of R. Asiaticus are constantly 

 increasing in number. They are of two main types: 



(1) the florists' section, called Persian Ranunculi, or 

 true R. Asiaticus. These require more care than the 

 others. They are quite variable in form and color, and 

 are the most highly cultivated members of the genus. 



(2) The gardeners' section, called Turban Ranunculi, 

 or var. Africanus. Compared with the first section, 

 these have larger, broader, 3-parted Ivs., not so much 

 cut: fls. larger and broader, with many crisp petals, 

 not flat and spreading but erect and curved inward, 

 forming a spherical flower, as in the double peonies. 

 See No. 7. K. C. Davis. 



Culture op the Asiatic Ranunculuses.— The cul- 

 ture of Ranunculuses in gardens and by florists has 

 been confined chiefly to the Persian and Turban Ranun- 

 culus, R. Asiaticus, since the Asiatic species is far 

 more attractive than the European. In England and in 

 other European gardens, R. Asiaticus has been in cul- 

 tivation a very long time. Parkinson mentions it in 

 his Paradisus, published in 1629. He termed it "the 

 double-red crowfoot of Asia." Since his time R. Asiat- 

 ic^is and its varieties have been greatly improved, both 

 in size of flowers and variety of colors. The flowers are 

 very double, almost globular in outline, and often ex- 

 ceed 2 inches in diameter, while the colors now embrace 

 almost every shade except blue, and some are striped 

 and variegated. A well-grown mass of these charming 

 flowers when in full blossom is a sight not soon for- 

 gotten. They are not as well known in American 

 gardens as in those of England or at least not in the 

 eastern states, since the writer has rarely met with 

 them or seldom seen any reference to them in the horti- 

 cultural periodicals. They are not adapted to either 

 spring or summer bedding. Their season of blossoming 

 in this country is about the last week in May and the 

 first week in June, which is too late for spring bedding, 

 while the season of blossoming is too short for summer 

 bedding. Therefore a position should be given them in 

 the herbaceous border where they will receive some 

 shade during the warmer parts of the day, or a level 

 place in a rock garden with a northern aspect. The 

 roots are tuberous, being like miniature dahlia roots. 



