Ranunculus repens. Creeping Crowfoot. 



RANUNCULUS Lin. Gen. PL Polyandria Polygyria. 



Cal. 5-phyllus. Petdla 5 intra ungues porb mellifero. Sem. nuda. 

 Rail Syn. Gen. 15. Herb^e semine nudo polyspermy. 



RANUNCULUS repens calycibus patulis, pedunculis fulcatis, ftolonibus repentibus, foliis Compofitis. 

 Lin. Syji. Vegetab. p. 430. Fl. Suec. n. 505. Sp. PL 779. 



RANUNCULUS caule repente radicato, foliis femitrilobatis, lobis petiolatis. Haller. Hifi. 11*73. 



RANUNCULUS repens. Scopoli FL Cam. n. 689. 



RANUNCULUS pratenfis repens hirfutus. Bauh. pin. 179. 



RANUNCULUS pratenfis repens. Parkin/. 329. 



RANUNCULUS pratenfis etiamque hortenfis. Ger. emac. 951. Rail Syn. p. 247. Common creeping 

 Crowfoot, or Butter-cups. Hudfon FL AngLed. 2. p. 240. Lightfoot FL Scot. p. 292. 



RADIX plurimis fibris albentibus conftat. % ROOT confifts of numerous whitifh fibres. 



CAULES ex una radice plerumque plures, pedales et | STALKS generally feveral from one root, a foot or 

 ultra, varia2 magnitudinis, pro ratione loci, te- % more in length, varying in fize according to 



retiufculi, hirfuti, repentes. I . the place of growth, roundifh, befet with. 



¥ rough hairs, and creeping. 



PETIOLI longi, hirfuti, ad bafin dilatati. | LEAF-STALKS long, hairy and dilated at the bafe. 



FOLIA plerumque utrinque hirfuta (etiam glabra oc- 3 LEAVES generally hairy on both fides (fometimes they 

 currunt) maculis albis fubinde notata, trilo- 1 are found fmooth and mining) frequently 



bata, lobis petiolatis, bi et tripartitis, lobulis | marked with white fpots, compofed of three 



acute dentatis. Z lobes, or fmaller leaves which have footftalks, 



I thefe are divided into two or three fegments, 



% and fharply notched. 



RAMI.floriferi ere&i, faepius biflori. I FLOWER-BRANCHES upright, generally fupporting 



% two flowers. 



PEDUNCNLI pubefcentes, ftriati. | FLOWER-STALKS downy and ftriated. 



CALYX c Perianthium pentaphyilum, follolis ovatis, J CALYX : a Perianthium of five leaves, which are 

 concavis, patentibus, pilofis, flavefcentibus, % ovate, concave, fpreadmg, hairy, yellowifh, 



margine membranaceis, deciduis. fig. 1. | membranous at the edge, and deciduous, jig. 1. 



COROLLA: Petala quinque, obcordata, patentia, % COROLLA : five Petals, inverfely heart-fhaped, 

 flava, interne nitida. fig, 2. | fpreading, yellow, mining on the infide. fig. 2. 



NECTARIUM : Squamula parva, rotundata, ad bafin % NECTARY a fmall roundifh Scale at the bafe of each 

 cujufvis petali. fig. 3. | petal, fig. 3. 



STAMINA: Filament a plurima, ultra triginta, re- 3 STAMINA : Filaments numerous, upwards of thirty, 

 ceptaculo inferta, apice paululum dilatata; An- f inferted into the receptacle, dilated a little at 



ther^e olongo-lineares, comprefiae, incurvatae, | top; Anthers oblong and fomewhat linear, 



flavas. fig. 4. t flattened, bent inward, and yellow, fig. 4. 



PISTILLUM : Germina plurima, in capitulum col- 1 PISTILLUM : Germina numerous, collected into a 

 lecla, comprefla, erecla ; Stylis brevibus, $ little head, flattened and upright ; terminated 



acuminatis, apice reflexis terminati ; Stig- | by fhort, pointed Styles, which turn back 



mata fimplicia. fig. 5. f at top, Stigmata fimple. fig. 5.. 



SEMEN compreflum, laeve, mucronatum. fig. 6. ¥ SEED flat, fmooth, with a fmall point, fig. 6. 



The Ranunculus bulbojus is a very noxious plant in dry paftures, as the acris is in the moid, and fome of the 

 bed meadows about town ; but where the repens abounds, it is more mifchievous than either of thofe, and it is a 

 plant fo general in its growth, that few meadows or paftures are entirely free from it ; it differs from the other 

 two Crowfoot?,, in having ftalks which run along the ground, and at every joint fending forth roots, and being a 

 plant that will thrive in almoft any foil, it is very apt to become the principal plant of the -pafturage, to the 

 great detriment of the farmer, as cattle in general have the greateft averfion to the Crowfoots. 



From the aftonifhing diverfity of foil and fituation in which this plant is found, the varieties which it aflumes 

 are almoft endlefs ; by the Thames fide it will grow three or four feet high, with a ftem nearly as large as one's 

 thumb ; in barren, gravelly fields, it is entirely procumbent, with a ftalk not larger than a fmall wheat ftraw, 

 but in all its various ftat.es I have ever found it to have a creeping ftalk, and this is a character which it does not 

 lofe by cultivation. Haller, milled by his pupil Willich*, who fince has retra&ed his error, fufpecled it to 

 be a variety of the bulbojus, but the bulbojus was never known to creep, this does wherever its ftalk can touch the 

 grouuJ. 



Irs principal time of flowering is in the month of June, but it may be found in bloffom during raoft of the 

 remaining fumnier months. 



Like the acris and bulbojus it is fometimes found double, but more rarely. 



* XXXV Ratimcuhm bulbofum non in repmtem mufari, ut in Obfcrvatlonibus BctanicU a. 1747. p. 4. fcripferam, nnperiores obfervationes do- 

 cuerunt. Utraque planca diverfitatcs luas conilaates retinet, ab III. Linnao nomuubus fpecifkis optime expreflas. Ubjervat. de plant, quibufd. 

 veiling. 1762. 



