POLYANDRIA— POLYGYNIA. Ranunculus. 55 



Fine Water Crowfoot. Pet. H. Brit. t. 39./. 2. 



y. Ranunculus aquaticus albus, circinatis tenuissime divisis foliis, 



floribus ex alls longis pediculis innixis. Rail Syn. 249. Pluk. 



Almag.3ll. Phyt.t. 55. f.2. 

 R. circinatus. Sibth. 175. 

 R. pantothrix /3. DeCand. Syst.v. 1. 236. 

 R. n. 11 62 /3. Hall. Hist. v. 2. 69. 

 Fine trimmed Water Crowfoot. Pet. H. Brit. t. 39./. 3. 

 S. Ranunculo, sive Polyanthemo aquatili albo affine, Millefolium 



Maratriphyllon fluitans. Bauh. Hist. v. 3.774. f. Rail Syn. 250. 



Ft. Dan. t. 376. 

 Ranunculus fluviatilis. Wigg. Holsat. 42. Sibth. 176. Abbot 123. 



Willd.v.2. 1333. 

 R. pantothrix y. DeCand. Syst. v. 1 . 236. 

 R. n. 1161. Hall. Hist. v. 2. 68. 

 Fennel Water Crowfoot. Pet. H. Brit. t. 39./ 4. 

 Foeniculus aquaticus. Dalech. Hist. 1023. f. 



In ditches and ponds every where. S in rivers. 



Perennial. May, June. 



The natural state of this species is when it mantles the surface of 

 still pools or ditches with its lobed floating leaves, and abun- 

 dance of white^owers, yellow in the middle, the branched stems 

 throwing out long fibrous roots from their lower joints, and the 

 leaves which are under water being repeatedly divided, in a 

 threefold manner, into narrow, linear, acute segments. The 

 flowers are solitary, on long stalks, opposite to the leaves. Cal. 

 smooth, deciduous. Pet. obovate, twice as long as the calyx, 

 with a tubular nectary in the middle of the yellow claw. Seeds 

 numerous, in a round head, obovate, transversely wrinkled ; 

 more or less hairy, or minutely bristly, especially in the varie- 

 ties. /3 has all the leaves cut as above mentioned, and im- 

 mersed in the water j but any person who throws it out into a 

 shallow puddle, early in the summer, will soon, I believe, see 

 broad leaves produced, y, from whatever cause, bears smaller, 

 neater, rounded, very finely cut leaves. J, floating in a strong 

 or rapid stream, has all its leaves dissected and lengthened out 

 by the water, and can but rarely flower. I agree with Prof. 

 Hooker that the hairiness of the seeds is no constant mark ; for 

 after having long ago thought it such, I have been obliged to 

 give up that point. See Rees's Cyclopcedia. 1 cannot but won- 

 der at those otherwise able botanists, who seeing these varieties 

 produced under their eyes, with the evident cause of each con- 

 tinually acting, can consider them as species. 

 R.fluviatilis of Dr. Bigelow in his Boston Flora, 139, is indeed a 

 totally different species, of much larger dimensions, with all the 

 leaves finely and copiously subdivided, bright yellow^owers, and 

 minutely wrinkled seeds, terminating in compressed upright 

 beaks, as long as themselves. 



