( 237 ) 
On the fir ft infpection, you per- Ranun- 
ceive that theftamzna are more than cu!us ' 
20 ; therefore it is of the Clafs Poly- 
andria: and in the centre of the 
flower, you find a great number of 
germlna y which are the female organs, 
though without ftyti> and their ftig- 
mata are very minute. This brings 
it to the Order Polygynia. 
As to thegemts of this plant, authors dif- 
fer. The celebrated Haller and Hudfon, 
make it a diftincl: genus, and call it Ficaria 
verna. But our great mafter Linnaeus muf- 
ters it among the Ranunculi, and he is fol- 
lowed by Curtis and Relhan. Thefe are in- 
difputable authorities. This is the generic 
character of the Ranunculus Calyx penta- 
phy Hits ; Petala quinque, intra ungues poro mel- 
lifero. Now the flower in your hand has a 
calyx of but 3 leaves, and the petals are 8 
in number; but thefe differences which are 
not invariable, are infufficient to conftitute 
a new genus. The fcale and nettarium at 
the bafe of each petal; their glofs and the 
general habitus of the plant declare it to be 
a Ranunculus. 
The Species we difcover, by its leaves be- 
ing heart-fhaped, angulated, on long petioti-, 
and 
