CLASS XIH. ORDER III.] RANUNCCLU8. 787 



English Botany, t. 2003. — English Flora, vol. iii. p. 54.— Hooker, 

 British Flora, ed. 4. vol. i. p. 218. — Lindley, Synopsis, p. 1 1. 



Stem round, smooth, somewhat fleshy, branched and creeping, 

 putting out simple fibrous roots from the axis of the leaves. Leaves 

 opposite or alternate, roundish, kidney-shaped, of a smooth dark 

 green, somewhat fleshy, and often marked with a dark spot in the 

 middle, three or five lobed, entire or crenated, footstalks of variable 

 length, with a pair of broadish ovate membranous stipules at the base. 

 Flowers axillary, on round pedicle , small, white. Cah/x of five ovate 

 sub-membranous reflexed pieces. Petals five, roundish, scarcely 

 longer than the calyx, the claw short, with a yellow nectariferous spot. 

 Stamens with short filaments, and oblong anthers, varying in number 

 from five to twelve. Carpels collected into a round head, numerous, 

 smooth, obliquely ovate, and transversely wrinkled. 



Habitat. — Wet shallows, and places occasionally inundated ; not 

 un frequent. 



Perennial ; flowering during the summer mouths. 



2. R. aqua'tilis, Linn. (Fig. 894.) Water Crowfoot. Stem floating, 

 the submersed leaves in much divided capillary segments, floating ones 

 three-partite, with wedge-sheped cut lobes; stem obtusely angular; 

 petals obovate, longer than the calyx ; carpels hispid ; stigma sessile, 

 obtuse. 



a. peltalus, Koch. Floating leaves sub-rolundale, cordate, five 

 lobed and crenated, the submersed leaves petiolated, with linear short 

 straight segments. 



English Botany, t. 101. — English Flora, vol. iii. p. 54. — Hooker, 

 British Flora, ed. 4. vol. i. p. 218. — Lindley, Synopsis, p. 12. 



/3. contortus. (Fig. 895.) Floating leaves sub-rotundate, cordate, 

 three to five lobed and crenated, the submersed leaves nearly sessile, 

 with capillary much divided curled segments. 



y. pantothrix, Koch. All the leaves with capillary segments. 



^. English Flora, vol. iii. p. 55. — Hooker, British Flora, ed. 4. vol. 

 i. p. 218. 



Stem long, branched, floating, obtusely angular, and striated, many 

 leaved, and putting out long slender fibrous roots from the axis of the 

 lower leaves and branches. Leaves alternate, the upper floating ones 

 on rather long petioles, roundish, cordate, from three to five lobed, the 

 lobes entire or coarsely crenated, smooth, a dark green, and somewhat 

 fleshy, the lower submersed leaves multifid, sessile, or petiolated, and 

 like the upper dilated at the base into thin membranous sheathing 

 stipules, hairy, and mostly ciliated, the branches much divided into 

 straight short linear acute segments, or elongated capillary curled 

 or contorted ones. Flowers solitary from the axis of the leaves, on a 

 round smooth pedicle. Calyx oblong, concave, obtuse, spreading, or 

 reflexed in flower. Petals obovate, as long again as the calyx, white, 

 with a short yellow claw, and small tubular nectariferous gland. 



