48 



NATURAL HISTORY OF PLANTS. 



species of plants, often cultivated for the beauty of their flowers, and 

 found chietly growing in the temperate regions and cold and hilly 

 countries all over the world. KnowJtonia and Adonis belong only to 

 the Old Continent ; but the true Anemones, though more abundant 

 in Europe and Asia,' are also met with in America.' 



Ranunculus rutafolius L.,' which has become the type of a small 

 genus under the name CaUianthenmm,'' presents, with the habit of a 

 Rnnunculuft, flowers which are externally exactly like those of an 

 Ai/onis. The perianth consists of a herbaceous quincuncial perianth 

 and a double corolla with membranous leaves, variable in number 

 and subject to dedupli cation.' The base of each petal (fig. 85) has 



Callianthemnm rutcpfolium. 

 Fig. 83. Fig. 86. Fig. 87, 



Petal. Carpels opened at different ages. 



a small nectariferous depression with the inner border nearly hori- 

 zontal ; the stamens are indefinite.^ But the chief characteristic of 



' Walp., Bep.y i. 14; ii. 738; v. 4; Ann., 

 i. 6; ii. 5; iv. 13.— Hook. & Th., Fl. Incl, 

 i. 19. — Hart. & Sond., Fl. Cap., i. 5. — Bentu., 

 Fl. Au-sir., I. 8.— S. & Zucc, Fl.Jap. Fam., 70. 



^ C. Gay, fl Chil., i. 19.— A. Geay, Gen. 

 III., t. 3-5. — Weddell, Chloris andina, ii. 298. 

 — A. S. H., Fl. Bras. Mer., i. 4.— Mart., Fl. 

 Brasil., Itenonc, 150. 



3 Spec, n., 777.— .Tacq., Coll., i. 18G, t. 6, 7. 

 — DC, Prodr., i. 30. — Ranunculus Bellardi 

 ViLL., Dauph., 4, t. 49. 



* C. A. Mey., in Ledeb., Fl. Alt., ii. 336.— 

 Endi>., Gen., n. 4779. — B. H., Gen. 5. n. 7. — 

 Walp., Rep., i. 33; Ann., iv. 10.- H. Bn., 

 Adansonia, iv. 2.3, 53. 



^ The corolla of C. ridcefolium C. A. Met. is 

 double. The outer whorl is formed of five petals 

 alternating with the caducous sepals. The inner 

 one is formed of one, two, or as many as to five 

 petnls, which alternate with the former, and of 

 which several may undergo deduplication. The 

 flowers then have from six or seven to fifteen 

 petals, and when these are numerous the inner 

 ones arc relatively narrow. 



^ In C. acattle Camb. the anthers have a mar- 

 ginal dehiscence. In C. ruffefolium C. A. Mey., 

 it is just a little more interior than exterior. In 

 both the filaments are flattened and the anthers 

 basifixed. 



