Colenso, — Descriptions of new Indigenous Plants. 237 



Art, XXVII. — A Description of some newly 'discovered and rare Indigenous 



Plants; being a further Contribution towards the making known the Botany 



of New Zealand. By W. Colenso, F.L.S. 



(Bead before the Wellington Philosophical Society, 13th February, 1885.) 



Class I. Dicotyledons. 



Order I.* KANUNCULACE^. 



Genus 3. Ranunculus, Linn. 



1. Ranunculus amphitricha, sp. nov. 



A low perennial, perfectly glabrous, slender, creeping herb, stolons very 

 long, rooting at nodes, rootlets very long. Leaves rather distant, generally 

 two from a node, erect, orbicular-cordate in outline, 7-9 lines diameter, 

 ternisect, the two lateral lobes bisected nearly to base, each lateral lobe 

 having 3-4 laciniations, middle lobe always cuneate and trifid, with a 

 minute laciniation or notch on each side, and mostly very regular ; petioles 

 slender, fistular, 2-3^ inches long, winged and clasping at base. Scapes or 

 peduncles rather stout, 1-2 inches long, springing from node on the opposite 

 side to the leaves, 1-3-flowered ; flowers single, on long pedicels, 3 lines 

 diameter ; sepals 5, shorter than petals, orbicular, greatly concave, inflated, 

 erect, obtuse, sub-papillose, one sepal always deeply emarginate or 

 sub-bifid ; petals 5-6, spreading, narrow, linear-oblong, obtuse, 2 lines 

 long, yellow, shining, simple veined ; vein forked at apex ; unguiculate, 

 ungues nearly as long as the lamina, the gland at base of lamina large, 

 extending nearly across, erect, thickened, slightly toothed at top ; stamens 

 numerous, filaments long, anthers round bright yellow ; styles erect when 

 young, long recurved and subulate when mature ; stigmas pubescent ; 

 achenes turgid and subpapillose when young, sub-globular and rugosely- 

 papillate when mature, 12-15 collected in a globose head as large as a small 

 pea ; receptacle (ripe) largely echinately chaffy or squarrosely-hairy at base ; 

 hairs flat, translucent, bordered. 



Hab. In muddy watercourses, edges of woods near Norsewood, County 

 ofWaipawa; 1880-84: W.C. 



Obs. I have long known this plant, it has given me no small amount of 

 yearly consideration and labour. I had long supposed it to be a variety of 

 R. rivularis and of some allied Australian species ; but on closer examina- 

 tion in its living state, and noting its differential (? specific) characters 

 (supra), which are permanent, I cannot but conclude it to be distinct. 



* The numbers in this paper attached to both orders and genera are those of the 

 " Handbook of the N.Z. Flora," 



