RANEVEA 



RANUNCULUS 



2005 



fore a new name was given. Cult, as in Hyophorbe. 

 Prop, by seeds in storehouse, under glass. 



HQdebrandtii, Bailey (Ravenea Hildebrandiii,Bouch6) . 

 Becoming 8-12 ft. high, but flowering under cult, when 

 half that height, spineless, erect: Ivs. elliptic-oblong or 

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

 pinnae 20 or more pairs and narrow-lanceolate-acute: 

 spadix long-stalked, the staminate recurved and with 

 short densely fld. 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 6: fr. black. 

 Comoro Isls. (east of Afr.). I.H. 27:403. B.M. 6776. 

 G.F. 4:259. 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 

 in the freedom with which it flowers and produces 

 seed we have an exceptional character among dwarf 

 palms." Perfect fls. are sometimes produced, although 

 the plant is usually dioecious. Described as one of the 

 most valuable recent palms. L. H. B. 



RANUNCULUS (Latin name for a little frog; 

 applied to the genus b}* Pliny in allusion to the wet 

 places in which many of the species grow). Including 

 Batrachium and Ficaria. Ranunculacex . BUTTERCUP. 

 CROWFOOT. Annual and perennial herbs, a number of 

 which are grown in the garden and sometimes in the 

 greenhouse for their showy flowers. Most of the spe- 

 cies are hardy perennials, some of them aquatic. 



Leaves entire or dissected; cauline Ivs. 

 alternate, often few: fls. white, yellow or 

 red, terminal, solitary or panicled, rarely 

 sessile at the branch axils; sepals 3-5, 

 caducous; petals all or most (up to 15) 

 provided with a honey-bearing pit or an 

 enlarged conspicuous or rarely minute 

 scale; stamens shorter than the sepals and 

 petals, frequently numerous, sometimes 

 only few in small-fld. species; carpels 

 numerous, 1-ovuled: achenes compressed 

 or subglobose, smooth or variously striate, 

 costate, rugose, or spin}-. About 300 

 species dispersed all over the world, mostly in the 

 temperate and colder regions, few in the tropics. The 

 structure and arrangement of the achenes is well shown 

 in Fig. 3340. 



Culture of the ranunculuses. (E. J. Canning.) 



The culture of ranunculuses in gardens and by florists 

 has been confined chiefly to the Persian and Turban 

 ranunculus, 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- 

 tivatior 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. asiati- 

 cus 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 

 exceed 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 

 forgotten. They are not so well known in American 

 gardens as hi 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. 

 They are not hardy, at least not in any of the northern 

 states. The tubers should be carefully Lifted after the 

 foliage has all "ripened off" (which occurs usually 

 toward the end of August), and stored until the follow- 

 ing spring in some cool shed where they will not freeze. 

 They should be planted as soon as the frost is well out 

 of the ground in spring, about 2 inches in depth and 

 about 6 inches apart, making the soil very sandy on top 

 so that the leaves will push through readily without 

 heaving the soil. Lake their congeners the European 

 ranunculi, they Like plenty of moisture at the roots dur- 

 ing the growing season, and if they can be shaded from 

 the sun when in flower their blossoming period will be 

 materially lengthened. They may also be grown for 

 flowering in the greenhouse. The gardener may well 

 have a few pans each year, planting the roots in pans of 

 light soil toward the end of January and placing them 

 in the coolest greenhouse, where they will blossom 

 toward the middle of April. He will probably prefer the 

 Turban varieties, since they are stronger-growing and 

 rather Larger than the Persian. The species may be 

 propagated by seeds, but this process is not worth while 

 because the bulbs may be procured so cheaply. Of the 

 native and European species of ranunculus, those of 

 the Batrachium section, such as R. aquatilis and its 

 varieties, are interesting aquatic plants, while R. repens 

 yar. flore-pleno, and R. amplexicaulis are useful as sub- 

 jects for the bog-garden. For herbaceous borders or 

 moist corners in the rock-garden R. aconitifolius var. 

 flore-pleno, R. cortusaefolius, R. anemonoides, R. parnas 

 sifolius, and R. Ficaria are the only species worth 

 growing. These are readily propagated from seeds or 

 by division of the plants in spring. See the supple- 

 mentary List, p. 2909, for some of these. 



KEY TO THE SPECIES. 



A. Sepals S 1. Ficaria 



AA. Sepals 5. 



B. Achenes transversely irrinkled, emar- 

 ginate: petals icith a nectar-bearing 

 pit at base. 



c. Lvs. setaceous-multifid: sts. sub- 

 mersed 2. fluitans 



cc. Lvs. subreniform or rounded-cor- 

 date: sts. creeping in the mud 3. hederaceus 



BB. Achenes smooth or nearly so: petals 

 usually with a nectar-bearing pit 

 and scale, the latter sometimes im- 

 perfect or very minute in c. 

 c. Roots fascicled, more or less tuber- 

 ous-thickened. 

 D. Sepals reflexed. 

 E. Head of achenes cylindrical- 

 spicate; achenes slightly ver- 

 rucose; beak straight: fls. 



numerous 4. psilostachys 



EE. Head of achenes ovoid; achenes 

 pubescent; beak recurved: fls. 

 few. 



