330 I'OLYANDRIA POLYGYKIA 



mcnts rhomboid-ovate, inciscd-dcntatc, cuneatc at base, the lateral urns 



2 or 3-lobed ; calyx finally rellexed ; carpels with a recurved point. 



Beck, Bot. />. 10. 



Also, R. sanicuheformis. Muhl. CataL p* 54. 



Recurved Ranunculus. 



Root perennial, coarsely fibrous, with a tuberous crown. Stem 9 to 15 inches 

 high, hairy, branched and leafy at summit. Leaves somewhat pentagonal in their 

 outline, 2 to 3 or 4 inches long, and as wide as long, 3-parted nearly 10 the base, 

 the middle segment somewhat trifid, and the lateral ones mostly bifid about hall 

 way to the base ; the radical Raves on petioles 3 to inches long. Flower* small, 

 at first on short peduncles, an 1 Inconspicuous among the leaves at summit ; pedun- 

 cles finally 1 to 2 inches long, clothed with apprcssed hairs. Sepals hairy, ovate- 

 lanceolate, rellexed. Petals pale yellow, elliptic, mostly shorter than the sepals, 

 sometimes very small and nearly abortive. Carpels In round isho void heads, 

 compressed, margined, punctate, with a subulate beak which is recurved or 

 hooked at the point. 

 Hub. Moist woodlands: frequent. Fl. May. !*>• June. 



Obs* The foliage of this species often has a striking resemblance to that of our 

 small variety of Sayii cula — which, doubtless, suggested Muhlenberg's synonym. 



8. R. fasciculauis, JtfuhL Stem rather erect, elongating, somewhat 

 branched, clothed with apprcssed hairs ; leaves ternatc, or quinate-pin- 

 nate, the lateral leaflets remote, 2 or 3-lobed, the terminal one deeply 

 3-parted; calyx spreading, pilose; carpels with a flat subulate nearly 

 straight point. Beck y Bot. p. 10. 



R. pcnnsylvanicus. Florul. Cestr. p. 60. Not of ldnn % and other*. 

 Fascicled Ranunculus. 



Root perennial, fasciculate, of numerous coarso and somewhat fleshy fibres 

 Stem 3 or 4 to 12 or 13 inches high, erect, or oblique, mostly several from the same 

 root, commencing flowering when young and short, subsequently elongated, and 

 branching above, clothed with whitish ami mostly apprcssed hairs, the pubescence 

 somewhat silky on the young plant. Radical leaves on petioles 3 to 6 inches long 

 often ternatc, the first ones s >mo times only 3-parted, with cuneate-obovate seg- 

 ments, the subsequent ones quinate-pinnate j leaflets cunea to -oblong, or lance- 

 oblong, variously incised, clothed with apprcssed hairs, the lateral leaflets rather 

 remote from the terminal 3-parted one, and mostly petiolate. Stem leaves on 

 petioles half an inch to 2 inches long ; uppermost leaves subsessile, 3-parted, with 

 lan.:e-linear, entire, or incised segments. Peduncles axillary, or opposite the 

 leaves, slightly angular, apprcssed-pilosc, finally 1 to 2 or 3 inches long. Calyx 

 spreading, hairy and greenish-yellow externally, yellow within. Petals bright 

 yellow (often becoming pale), elliptic, or obovate -oblong, twice as long as the calyx, 

 with a cuneate-obovate scale at base. Carpels rather large, in r«»undish-ovoi 1 

 heads, compressed, obliquely obovate, smooth, margined, terminating in a flat acuu 

 beak which is nearly Straight, or slightly curved either inwards or outwards, and 

 about as long as the carpel. 

 Hab. Kocky, open woodlands: frequent. Fl. April—May. Fr. June. 



Obs. I have some specimens, formerly collected in this County, which arc ap- 

 parently allied to this,— but with a more hirsute and spreading pubescence. They 

 were given in my Catalogue as "R. tiisjridus*'; but from their imperfect state I am un- 

 able to determine whether they are really distinct from the present species; which 

 I think is subject to considerable variation, in its different stages. I have also met 

 with a few kindred-looking specimens,— with narrower acutely incised-serrate lea- 

 flets, a spreading pubescence on the stems and petioles, and smoothish lance-oval*; 

 acuminate sepals,— which may, perhaps, belong to R. marilandicus, otPoirct. 



