RANUNCULUS. 



Lamarck) defcribes fhem in his R. agrarias, cited above. — 

 Thii fpecies has been very little underllood. It is remark- 

 able that any botaniil (Tiould confound it vvitli bulbojis, or 

 with fceleratus, and that Mr. Curtis, in la-bouriiitj to diftin- 

 guiOi it, did not advert to the decifivc charaiter of the 

 tuberculated feeds, by which it approaches a very different 

 tribe, hereafter d/fcnbed, confilting of/'ariJ//?o/-KJ, muricatiis, 

 &c. Even Ehrliart has not noticed this circumllancc. 

 We ar.- obliged to Mr. Edward Forfter, P'.L.S. for tracing 

 out the identity of R. pm-vulus and hlrfutiis, and we cannot 

 but prefer Curtis's ongmal name for the fpecies, rather than 

 Ehrhart's pedantic one of later date. On the account of 

 priority fardoiis perhaps ought to have been retained ; 

 but this name is fonnded on a very dubious opinion, that 

 the plant of which we are fpeaking caufed the Sardonic 

 laugh. Valerius Cordus, indeed, fays it grows copioully 

 in Sardinia, and it has certandy the appearance of Sniallage, 

 Ap'tum ; fo far aid'wering to the ancient hilfory. But the 

 account of Cordus feems taken from Diofcorides, whofe 

 " fecond Ranunculus" is more probably the Linnxan lanu- 

 ghiofus, a flill more general plant of the fouth of Europe 

 than that of which we are fpeaking. After all, the famous 

 Sardinian herb, compared to Smallage, may be actually 

 wild Smallage or Celery, Ap'tum gmveokns, which is fuffi- 

 ciently ' acrid and poifonous to warrant our fuppofition, 

 though It becomes fweet and wholefome by culture. In 

 this uncertainty it is furely befl to call our plant R. hir- 

 futus. 



52. R. palujlris. Oriental Marfli Crowfoot. Linn. 

 MSS. (R. orientalis paluftris, apii folio, caule fubhirfuto ; 

 Tourn. Cor. 20.) Leaves hairy, in three or five deep feg- 

 ments, bluntly notched, with rounded dilated finufes. Stem 

 ereft, branched, almolt leaflefs. Calyx fpreading. Seeds 

 ovate, comprefled, very fmooth, with a fhort recurved beak. 



Native of the Levant. An oriental fpecimen, with Tour- 



nefort's fynonym, is preferved in the Linnaean herbarium, 

 and named pnlujlrls, but we can find no mention of it elle- 

 ■where. This is certainly a moft diftinft fpecies, though not 

 taken up by any recent -author. The root confifts of many 

 flefhy knobs, tapering into fibres, and refcmbling thofe of 

 R. qfaticiis, though not fo thick. Stem two feet or more 

 in height ; hairy below ; much branched, and almoft leaf- 

 lefs above ; the branches ternate. Leaves cliiefly radical, 

 on loniT hairy ftalks ; their outline fomewhat pentagonal ; 

 heart-fhaped at the bafe ; hairy on both fides, about two 

 inches wide ; their three principal lobes fpreading, deeply 

 feparated by wide rounded finuies, and notched unequally 

 at the extremity with broad, rounded, abrupt teeth ; the 

 upper or floral leaves are fmall, fhort, linear, \mdivided. 

 Flowers, as far as we can judge, yellow, not large. Calyx 

 hairy, fpreading widely, but fcarcely reflexed. Seeds in a 

 round head, brown, fhining, quite fmooth, compreiTed, mofl 

 like thofe of bulbofus, but more ovate, and with a longer, 

 more recurved, and fomewhat hooked, beak. Their edge 

 is green, fimple, not triple-ribbed as in the lall. 



53. R. poljrhixos. Msny-rooted Siberian Crowfoot. 

 Willd. n. 42. Lamarck Dift. n. 38. — Radical leaves pal- 

 mate, with wedge-fhaped, three-toothed fegments ; ilem- 

 leaves feflile, fingered. Stems many-tlowered. R.oot fafcicu- 

 lated. Calyx fpreading. Seeds ovate, comprefTed, fmooth, 

 with a blunt beak — Native of Siberia. Root fafclculated, 

 perennial. Radical leaves like R. feeler atus, three-lobed ; 

 their lateral lobes two-lobed, wedge-fhaped like the leaf 

 itfelf, their fegments bluntly three-toothed. Stems a finger's 

 length, fimple, ereft or afcending, two or three from one 

 root. Stem-leaves lelhle, fingered, wedge-fhaped at the bafe ; 

 their fegments linear, bluntifh, entire. Floiuer-Jialkt two. 



three, or four, long, fmgle-flowercd, round, not furrowed, 

 very finely downy like the item. Calyx-lcaves coloured, 

 fmooth, obtufe, fpreading. Petals yellow, tlie fize of R. 

 Fl'immula. Fruit roundifh. Seeds ovate, comprefTed, Imootli, 

 crowned with the ])ermanent h\\mtjligma. lyUldenotv. IJy 

 the above defcription tiiis fpecies appears related, in many 

 points, to the laft, though they can hardly be the fame. 



54. R. repens. Common Creeping Crowfoot. Linn. Sp. 

 PI. 779. Willd. n. 43. Ait. n. 27. Purfh n. 14. FJ. 

 Brit. n. 9. Engl. Bot. t. 516. Curt. Lond. fal'c. 4. t. 38. 

 Mart. Hull. t. 29. (R; pratcnfis, etiamque hortenfis ; Ger. 

 Em. 951.) — Leaves ternate, three -cleft, cut, hairy. Stem:. 

 afcending. Runners creeping. Flowcr-flalks furrowed. Ca- 

 lyx hairy, fpreading. Seeds ovate, comprefled, even. — Very 

 common in meadows, waffe ground, church-yards, negkfted 

 gardens.and fields, throughout Europe. Mr. Purfli obferved 

 it in fhady wet woods, particularly on the mountains, from 

 Penfylvania to Virginia. It flowers from June to Aiigiifl, 

 and is perennial, being often a troublefomc weed. RorA 

 fibrous. Befides the upright Jlems, which are of humble 

 growth, leafy, branched, bearing feveral flowers, the root 

 fends forth long trailing creeping flioots, whofe joints pro- 

 duce leaves, and fome fliorter fimpler items. The wliole 

 herb is raugh and hairy, of a dark green. Leaves flalked, 

 ternate, more or lefs three-cleft, fharply cut or toothed ; 

 often marked with dark purple, or black, fometimes pale^ 

 fpots ; the nppermoll linear-lanceolate and entire. Calyx 

 hairy, fpreading, not rcflexed. Petals deep yellow, generally 

 emarginate. NeHary covered by a heart-lliaped fcale. Fruit 

 globofe. Seeds ovate, comprefled, fmooth at the fides, often 

 hairy at the edge, their beak fhort and blunt. 



55. R. projlratus. Proflrate Crowfoot. Lamarck Dift. 

 n. 35. Fl. Francoife, n. 3. 197. — Leaves ternate, three- 

 cleft, very hairy. Stems entirely proltrate, creeping, zig- 

 zag. Calyx fmooth. — Native of dry hilly places about 

 Paris, Lamarck and Poiret efleem this a diftintl fpecies 

 from the laft, not only becaufe its herbage is much fmaller 

 and more hairy, but becaufe the Jlems are, even when in 

 flower, entirely proflrate. We have never met with any 

 thing anfwering to this defcription in England. The Jlomers 

 are faid to refemble repens, having likewife a fmooth calyx. 

 Our repens has hairs on that part. 



56. Q. intennedius. Intermediate Crowfoot. Lamarck 

 Diet. n. 44. — Lower leaves three-lobed, cut ; upper fome- 

 what fingered. Flower-flalks nioflly folitary. Calyx re- 

 flexed. Seeds comprefled, fmooth. Root fibrous". — Found 

 at the borders of ponds in France, about Paris and at Fon- 

 tainebleau. This plant, according to Poiret, is, as it were, 

 intermediate between bulbofus and repens, having, befides, 

 many charafters in common with projlratus. The root is 

 fibrous, fafciculated. Stems feveral, low, fcarcely branched, 

 almoft leaflefs except at the bottom, weak, ftriated, flightly 

 downy, often forked above. Radical leaves on long ftalks, 

 almoli fmooth, in three rounded, often cut, lobes ; the 



Jlem-leaves have three linear or lanceolate irregular lobes ; 

 the uppermoft are very narrow, almofl fingered. Fla-wers 

 axillary, or terminal, two or three o\\ each branch, on very 

 long and flender, nearly fmooth, flalks. Calyx-leaves re- 

 flexed at the time of flowering, as in bulbofus, coloured, con- 

 cave, bearing foriie very fine long hairs. Petals of a fine 

 yellow, flriated, middle-fi zed. /"ru/V oval or globofe. Seeds 

 fmooth, comprefTed, roundifb, with a green border. We 

 know nothing of this fpecies but from the above defcription. 



57. K. lucidus. Shining-leaved Crowfoot. Lamarck Dift. 

 n. 36. — Leaves with three or five lobes, fomewhat pinnatifid, 

 fhining, fmooth. Stem ereft, many-flowered. Calyx re- 

 flexed,— Suppofed to be a native of the Levant ; cultivated 



in 



