3l8 AMERICAN MIDLAND NATURALIST 



NOTES ON OUR LOCAL PLANTvS.— VIII. 



BY J. A. NIEUWLAND. 



Family 67. RANUNCULACEAE L. Gerard, Fl. Gallopr., 



p. 378 (1761). 



RANUNCULUS Pliny XXV: 13. 



Batrachion Dioscorides and of the Greeks generally, Ranunculus 

 Dodonaeus, Thalius, Camerarius, Tabernaemontanus, Gerarde, 

 Cordus, • Lobelius, Casalpinus, Casper Bauhin, Matthioli, Lacuna, 

 Gesner, Clusius, etc., etc. Ranunculus Tour., Els., p. 240 (1694), 

 p. 285 (1700), inclusive of Anemononthaea, Ramtnculus Linn., 

 Syst., (1735)- Gen., p. 165 (1737). P- 259 (i753)- Hecatonia Spach, 

 Hist. Nat, Veg., VII, p. 198 (1839), also Loureiro, Fl. Cochin, 

 China, I, p. 302 (1790). 



The type of this genus is Rannnctdus sceleratus Linn. The 

 descriptions of the Greeks, Pliny, and of the pre-Linnaeans 

 generally point to this plant without a shadow of doubt. Dr. 

 Britton in the last edition of the Illustrated Flora cites R. Auricomus 

 Linn., as type of the genus. The very name Ranunculus or Batra- 

 chion (a little frog) the Greek literal translation, would have 

 suggested a plant inhabitant of marshes where frogs live. 

 " BaTpd;^<oi^ Dioscoridi lib. 2. cap. 106 o\ he Ge?.LVOV dypiov & 

 Latinis ranunculus: procul dubio quod limitibus, opacisque margi- 

 nibus ranarum more laetetur aut quia inter ejus frutices ranae 

 frequenter inveniantur." C. Bauhin, Phytopinax, p. 319 (1596). 



Ranunculus aquaticus M. Vergihus, Diosc, p. 509 (1529) 



Ranunculus aquaticus Fuchs, Hist., t. 88 (1545) also (1549), 

 Ranunculus palustris V. Cordus, Hist., (1561), Ranunculus palus- 

 tris Dodonaeus Trium Prior. St. Hist., p. 406 (1554), Ranunculus 

 sylvestris Dod., Pempt., p. 426, 111:2:2, i (1583), etc. Ranunculus 

 sceleratus Linn., vSp. PI., p. 551 (1753). Hecatonia palustris Lour., 

 1. c. p. 303, also Spach, 1. c. Ranunculus Scelerata Linn, and Hes- 

 selgr., Pan Suec. Am. Acad., II, p. 250 (1751). 



Michigan City, Laporte Co. (C. D. Mell), Nos. 9147 St. 

 Joseph, Mich. 9255 Benton Harbor, Mich. 



Ranunculus abortivus Linn., Sp. PL, p. 551 (i753)- 



Nos. 6069 Benton Harbor, Mich. (Tidestrom), St. Joseph Co. 

 (Rothert), 11 104 Notre Dame. 



