30 I. EANUNCULACEAE. [Ranunculus. 



'-' R. parviflorus, L., Sp. PI. 780, ed. 2. A tufted annual with weak decumbent 

 or suberect stems 6in.-18in. long. Eadical leaves on long petioles, orbicular or 

 reniform, 3-5-lobed, margins toothed, sparingly hairy on both surfaces. Cauline 

 leaves smaller. Peduncles short, opposite the leaves or axillary. Flowers small. 

 Sepals 5, equalling the petals, which have a gland near the base. Achenes 

 somewhat compressed, rough, with short hooked spines on the sides ; style short, 

 stout, hooked. 



NORTH and SOUTH Islands : Naturalised in cornfields, pastures, and waste places. Oct. 

 to Dec. Europe. 



Var. australls, Benth., PI. Austr. i. 14. A fugacious annual with filiform or capillary steins 

 lin.-5in. long, suberect or decumbent and intricate. Badical and cauline leaves on petioles about 

 lin. long ; blade Jin.-Jin. broad, very membranous, with few weak hairs, 8-5-lobed or toothed, lobes 

 acute. Flowers minute, sessile. Achenes slightly compressed ; style very short, straight. — Hook, f., 

 Handbk. 8. R. sessiliflorus, R. Br. in DO. Syst. Veg. i. 302 ; Hook, f., PI. N.Z. i. 11. B. collmus and 

 B. Pumilio, R. Br. in DC. Syst. "Veg. i 271. 



NORTH Island : Amongst rocks, &c., Auckland Isthmus. Originally discovered by Mr. 

 Colenso. Doubtfully indigenous. Aug., Sept. 



'-■= R. arvensis, L., Sp. PL 555. An erect almost glabrous annual, sparingly 

 branched above. Eadical leaves obovate, 3-fid, toothed. Cauline leaves deeply 3-par- 

 tite, the segments cut into narrow linear lobes. Eeceptacle hairy. Sepals 5, spread- 

 ing. Achenes large, compressed, with a strong spinous margin, sides with hooked 

 tubercles ; style stout, hooked. 



NORTH and SOUTH Islands : Naturalised in cornfields, but not abundant. Jan. Europe. 



*R. muricatus, L., Sp. PL 555. Annual, tufted, 3in.-12in. high, glabrous. 

 Eadical leaves on long petioles, glossy when fresh, 3-5-lobed or partite, segments 

 incised or toothed. Peduncles opposite the leaves. Sepals 5, ovate, shorter than 

 the petals. Achenes large, with spinous tubercles on the sides, margin stout but not 

 spinous ; style broadly subulate, stout. 



NORTH and SOUTH Islands : Naturalised in pastures and waste places. Nov., Deo. 

 Europe. 



* R. falcatus, L., Sp. PL 556. Annual, -l-in. high. Leaves all radical, 

 spreading in flower, later curled over the fruit, -J-in.— |in. long, narrowed into a flat 

 petiole below, deeply cut into 3-5 linear lobed toothed or entire segments above, 

 hairy. Scapes 1-3, very short, 1-flowered. Sepals 5. Petals narrow-obovate, 

 abruptly narrowed into a claw at the base, with a gland just above the claw. 

 Achenes in a dense elongated spike, with a gibbosity on each side at the base 

 forming an empty cavity; beak 4-5 times as long as the achene, stout, canalicalate, 

 straight or incurved. 



SOUTH Island: Otago : Kurow, Bald Hill Plat, &c., Petrie ! Naturalised in dry sheep- 

 country. Europe. 



[R, areolatus, Petrie in Trans. N.Z.I, xxii. (1889) 439, said to have been found at Lake 

 Wakatipu by A. 0. Purdie, consists of poor specimens of the Scandinavian R. pygmaeus, Wahlb,, 

 mixed with scraps of R. subfluitans.'] 



L CALTHA, Linn. 



Sepals 4 or 5, imbricate, petaloid. Petals 0. Stamens numerous. Carpels 

 sessile, capitate ; ovules numerous in two series on the ventral suture. Fol- 

 licles many-seeded, opening along the inner face. Seeds with a thickened 

 funicle and prominent rhaphe. Glabrous tufted perennials, with radical leaves. 



Speoibs, about 10, restricted to the temperate and cold regions of both hemispheres. 



Etym. Prom the Greek, signifying a cup. 



