8t ANNALS OF ROYAL BOTANIC GARDEN, CALCUTTA. 
subacute, 8—11 mm, long, 3—43 mm. broad, at the margin often microscopically 
papillose. Petals 7—18, $ to twice as long as the sepals, with 3 repeatedly divided 
nerves (nervelets subparallel), cuneate-obovate, obtuse or subrotund at the apex, 12— 
15 mm. long, 45-55 mm. broad, white, yellowish near the base. Stamens 30 — 40, 
unequal in length, filaments of inner stamens shorter, about 3 mm. long, plane, dilated 
towards the base, outer 3:7—5 mm. long., narrow-linear, scarcely widened below; anthers 
equal, oblong-elliptic, blunt, about 19 mm. long, laterally dehiscing. Pollen globose. 
Pistils 15—30, inserted on а short-cylindric torus, forming a globose head; ovaries 
biconvex, margined, ventrally gently curved, dorsally very convex, ciliate, on the sides 
puberulous; dorsal nerve simple, ventral divided a little above the bifurcation of the 
basal nerve, in two branches, the right one of which, seen dorsally, is ovule-bearing, the 
left one sterile; style shorter than the ovary, apex recurved, stigmatiferous on ventral 
suture. Ovule hemianatropous, inserted with a broad base, with two integuments, micropyle 
directed towards the base of the ovary. Achenes rather numerous, sessile, gathered into a 
globose head of 1 cm. diameter, asymmetrically obovoid, the ventral suture being nearly 
straight, the dorsal one very convex, about 5 mm. long, ventrally keeled, rugulose on the 
sides, puberulous, style hooked, much shorter than the achene proper. 
PrarE 109. Adonis brevistyla, Franch., var. trichocarpa. 1, sepal; 2, petal; 3, inner stamen; 4, outer stamen; 6, 
pistil; 6, the same, one-half of the pericarp removed; 7, pistil, dorsal aspect; 8, section through ovule; 9, ripe carpel; 
10, longitudinal section through the same; ll, outer epidermis with hair from ripe carpel; 12, group of sclerenchyma 
cells from ripe carpel. 
RANUNCULUS AucHERI, Boiss. 
Root-fibres thin-cylindric; leaves subisodiametrio, trisect; segments usually potioled, 
deeply cut, more rarely only lobate; longer lacinie mostly linear; flowers solitary or 
few or forming a many-flowered, often divaricate corymb; sepals spreading, persistent ; 
nectariferous staminodes broad.obovate, subasymmetric, about 1 em. long, persistent; 
‘nectarial scale free, conspicuous; gynæcium ovoid; ovaries flat, broadly semi-ovate or 
'semi-obovate, dorsally very convex, subabruptly attenuated into the style, glabrous or 
‘more or less beset with stiffish hairs; style hooked at the tip; achene compressed, glabrous 
or somewhat hairy, smooth. | 
Flowers in May and June. 
Distribution : Persia, Afghanistan. | 
The Afghan specimens vary considerably in the thickness of the root-fibres, in the relative 
length of style and ovary, and іп the degree of division of the leaves. It will therefore be 
preferable to reunite R. elbrusensis with В. Aucheri. В. eriocarpus, Boiss, too, is hardly more than: 
* да form of В. Aucheri. Taking the latter to be а good species of the first order because of its 
` tomentose carpels, we arrive at the following arrangement. 
` Subspecies I. ELBRUSENSIS, Boiss.; root-fibres oblong cylindric; leaves trisect; segments 
sessile; laeinim subacute; ovaries hairy, about twice the length of the style.—Elbrus. 
Subspecies II. Аоснввт TYPICUS; root-fibres thin-cylindric; leaves trisect, at least the 
terminal segment, petiolulate ; lacinie mostly subacute; ovaries hairy or glabrous; style 4 to + the 
_ length of the ovary. 
| ` Var. a. BUNGEANA, Boiss; leaf-segments only lobed.— Persia. 
Var. В. persica; leaf-segments tripartite or trisect ; flowering plant 30—50 cm. high ; inflorescence 
° many-flowered, corymbose; style usually about as long as the ovary.—Southern 
` Persia (Kotschy ñ). 3 : 1-7 | 7 وو‎ | 
