130 
RANUNCULUS 
British species of Eu-Ranunculus 
5. R. flabellatus (see below). Root-tubers present. Pedicels not furrowed. Receptacle glabrous. 
Sepals spreading. Head of achenes elongate. Achenes glabrous, punctulate ; beak long, nearly straight. 
6. R. auricomus (p. 1 3 1 ). Pedicels not furrowed. Receptacle glabrous. Sepals spreading. 
Nectary scaleless. Head of achenes subglobose. Achenes hairy ; beak long, curved. 
7. R. repens (p. 132). Pedicels furrowed. Receptacle slightly hairy. Sepals spreading. Head 
of achenes subglobose. Achenes glabrous ; beak short. 
8. R. acris (p. 132). Pedicels not furrowed. Receptacle glabrous. Sepals spreading. Head 
of achenes subglobose. Achenes glabrous ; beak conspicuous, curved. 
9. R. bulbosus (p. 134). Root swollen. Pedicels furrowed. Receptacle slightly hairy. Sepals 
reflexed. Head of achenes subglobose. Achenes glabrous ; beak short, curved. 
10. R. aleae (p. 134). Differs from R. bulbosus in the following characters. Root not or scarcely 
swollen. Pedicels less markedly grooved, especially towards the top. Flowers rather paler and larger. 
Head of achenes larger. 
11. R. sardoiis (p. 135). Annual. Pedicels furrowed. Receptacle hairy. Sepals reflexed. 
Head of achenes subglobose. Achenes broad ; beak straight, short. 
12. R. parviflorus (p. 136). Annual. Pedicels furrowed. Receptacle glabrous. Sepals reflexed. 
Head of achenes subglobose. Achenes broad ; beak short, nearly straight. 
13. R. arvensis (p. 136). Annual. Pedicels not furrowed. Receptacle hairy. Sepals spreading. 
Head of achenes subglobose. Achenes prickly ; beak rather long, curved. 
5. RANUNCULUS FLABELLATUS. Plate 134 
Ranunculus flabellatus Desfontaines FI. Atlant. i, 438 (1798); N. E. Brown Eng. Bot. ed. 3, suppl., 
16 (1892); Rouy et Foucaud FI. France i, 88 (1893); E- chaerophyllus [L. Sp. PI. 555 (1753) pro min. parte, 
excl. diagn., non herb.;] DC. Syst. Nat. i, 254 (1818); Trimen in Journ. Bot. x, 225 (1872). 
leones Desfontaines FI. Atlant. t. 114; Trimen in Journ. Bot. x, t. 125, as R. chaerophyllus ; N. E. Brown 
in Eng. Bot. ed. 3, suppl. t. 36 a. 
Camb. Brit. FI. iii. Plate 134.. (a) Lower part of plant, (b) Ground-leaves, (c) Stem-leaves, (d) Flowering 
stems, (e) Petal. (/) Lower part of petal (enlarged), (g) Stamens (enlarged), (h) Achenes (two enlarged). 
Jersey (J. P. and S. G.). 
Exsiccata : — Borgeau (PI. d' Espagne), 527, et 2081 ; Huter (I tin. Ital. iii), 335. 
Perennial. Roots consisting of long fibres and several small (about 8 mm. by 6) tubers. Stolons 
very slender, 7 — 12 cm. long, terminated by a bud which gives rise to a new plant. Shoot about 
3 dm. high, not or little branched, hairy. Rosette-leaves dying early ; petioles longer than the laminae ; 
laminae simple, more or less deeply lobed, lobes obtuse. Stem-leaves few ; basal-sheaths rather promi- 
nent ; petioles much longer than the laminae ; laminae with 3 — 5 lobes ; lobes cuneate, each with 
2 — 3 secondary lobes, acute to obtuse. Inflorescence with only 1—2 (rarely 3 or 4) flowers. Pedicels 
long (up to 16 cm.), not furrowed, striate when dry. Receptacle glabrous. Flowers about 2'5 — 3*5 cm. 
in diameter ; late April and May. Sepals with a broad scarious margin, spreading, caducous, yellowish 
on the inner side. Petals yellow, large, nectary covered with an oblong or subrectangular scale. 
Stamens longer than the carpels ; filaments broadening towards the top. Carpels 00 , crowded, style 
comparatively long (2 mm.). Head of achenes elongate, about i‘5 — 2'o cm. long and ro broad; 
achenes compressed, minutely punctate, brownish, margin greenish ; beak nearly straight, long but 
shorter than the rest of the achene. 
The specimen in the Linnaean herbarium named R. chaerophyllus is not the present species, but an imperfect example 
of some other plant. On the other hand, R. bulbosus Linn. herb, is R. flabellatus Villars 1 . 
According to Rouy and Foucaud (op. cit. p. 89), the Jersey plant is referable as follows: — R. flabellatus var. acutilobus 
Freyn in Oest. Bot. Zeit. xxvi, 128 — 129 (1876); R. dimorphorhizus Brotero Phyt. Lusit. ii, 227, t. 180 sinstr. (1827); R. chaero. 
phylloides Jordan Observ. fragm. vi, 5 (1847); R. flabellatus race dimorphorhizus Rouy et Foucaud op. cit. p. 89. 
Very rare ; dry sandy, sunny hedgebanks in Jersey. 
Belgium, France (including Normandy), Spain, Portugal, Italy, southern Austria (Dalmatia), 
Crete, Turkey, Greece; northern Africa; south-western Asia and India. 
1 “Valuable as that collection [the Linnaean herbarium] very often is, yet it is sometimes better to judge of what Linnaeus 
intended by an examination of his publications than his specimens. It would be productive of the greatest confusion, and 
no benefit, to adapt our nomenclature invariably to that of the Linnaean herbarium” (Trimen in Journ. Bot. x, 227-8 (1872)). 
We cannot imagine that any systematist who has freely consulted the herbarium of Linnaeus will dissent from this carefully 
expressed opinion of Dr Trimen. 
