N. O. RANUNCULACEiE. 11 



Roots biennial, paired, tuberous ; daughter-tuber shortly 

 conic to long-cylindric, often irregularly shaped, 4 to more than 

 10 cm. long, 0*75-3 cm. thick, simple or branched, sometimes 

 flexuous or twisted, bearing root-fibres, some of which are 

 thread-like from the base and break off easily, while others are 

 much thickened at the base or thick-cylindric, light-brown, 

 smooth, fracture more or less horny and brownish in the thick- 

 est part of full-grown samples, almost farinaceous and white 

 towards the tips and in the root-branches, cambium discon- 

 tinuous, forming isolated strands of very varying shape and size, 

 cylindric or tangentially flattened or crescent-shaped in cross- 

 section, taste purely and persistently bitter ; mother-tubers 

 similar, but smaller, shrunk more or less hollow, and brown 

 internally. Innovation -bud, short, conic from broad base 

 Stem erect, sometimes shortly flexuous in the upper part, simple 

 or nearly so, inclusive of the inflorescence, 2-4ft. high, stout, 

 hollow, shining, glabrous. Leaves scattered, rather distant, 

 up to 10, rarely more, the lowest usually withered at the time 

 of flowering, quite glabrous, or the uppermost finely pubescent 

 on the nerves below ; petioles slender, 4-10 cm. long ; blade 

 orbicular-cordate to reniform with a very wide sinus (1-2 cm. 

 deep), 6-10 cm. high from the sinus to the tip, 7-15 cm. across 

 5-or the uppermost 3-palmati-partite to f or f , rarely more (to § 

 in the inner incisions), divisions obovatecuneate to broadly 

 lanceolate-cuneate or the outermost trapezoid, 3-lobed to about 

 the middle or the outermost 2-lobed, intermediate lobe often 

 elongated like others, acutely inciso-dentate or apiculately cre- 

 nate. Inflorescence : — A very loose leafy panicle or raceme, 10-20 

 cm. long, glabrous, or pubescent in the upper part ; rhachis 

 rather slender ; floral leaves, like the preceding canline leaves, 

 passing into the ovate or deltoid, dentate, shortly petioled 

 bracts ; bracteoles similar to bracts, but smaller, and sparingly 

 dentate or entire, above the middle of the pedicels or even close 

 to the flower ; pedicels slender, curved, ascending, ultimately 

 more erect, the lower up to 10 cm. long. Sepals bluish, or 

 variegated white and blue, glabrous at least outside ; upper- 

 most helmet-shaped, helmet obliquely semi-orbicular (from the 

 side) or more depressed and gaping very shortly or obscurely 



