RANUNCULUS 
133 
The forms of this variable species have been studied by several British botanists who all agree that in this country the 
“species” named by Jordan are not constant. Syme (Eng. Bot. i, pp. 38 — 39) recognised three subspecies, but corrected 
his opinion later (see Journ. Bot. viii, 257 — 8 (1870)). F. Townsend (Journ. Bot. xxvii, 140 (1889)) gave a summary of 
Kerner’s views ( Schedae ad FI. Exsicc. Austr.-Hung. (1888)) which, while doubtless representing the forms of central Europe, 
seem scarcely applicable to British specimens. Later, Townsend (Journ. Bot. xxxviii, 379 (1900)) gave a summary of the 
views of Rouy and Foucaud (op. cit.), and here stated that “intermediate forms naturally and certainly do occur...; but 
characters which may be inconstant in small areas where different forms are associated may be more constant in a prevailing 
form within a large area.” J. W. White (El. Bristol. 122 (1912) described and localised six forms “which can easily be 
recognised if the specimens be typical and complete”; but, besides these six forms, he stated that others occur “without 
well-marked characters,” and these “ may be regarded as the normal or central unit around or on each side of which the 
named varieties arrange themselves.” Mr White, in 1913, found himself unable to send even two out of his six varieties to 
Mr Hunnybun to draw. He wrote (in lift ., July 3rd, 1913) that for this purpose “several hundred specimens have been 
examined, but hardly any would pass the test. With few exceptions, all the plants we come across belong to the large 
indefinable group of which one can only say it is aggregate acris.” Mr White kindly offered to send his dried examples. 
However Mr Hunnybun has fortunately not practised himself in the art of portraying herbarium material ; and the illustrations 
of the Cambridge British Flora will therefore continue to represent drawings from living plants alone. 
We give below two varieties, each with a subordinate forma ; and these represent the extreme forms which we have 
actually met with in our herborisations in this country. We agree with the opinions expressed by previous British workers 
that many British plants occur which are intermediate in character. Of these intermediate plants, some may be hybrids of 
the two recognised varieties, and others habitat-states; and it may well be that still others are additional good varieties which 
would come true from seed, but whose characters are obscured by the prevalence of the hybrids and formae. 
(a) R. acris var. multifidus DC. Syst. i, 278 (1818); R. boraeanus Jordan Observ. Fragm. vi, 19 (1847)!; 
Boreau FI. Centr. France dd. 3, ii, 16 (1857); R. acer subsp. boraeanus Rouy et Foucaud FI. France i, 102 (1893); 
R. acer var. boraeanus White FI. Bristol 122 (1912) inch var. tomophyllus, var. rectus, and var. pumilus. 
leones : — Smith Eng. Bot. t. 652 (intermediate), as R. acris ; Martyn FI. Rust. t. 30, as R. acris-, Reichenbach, 
Icon, iii, t. 16 bis, fig. 4606, as R. acris. 
Exsiccata : — Billot, 1105, as R. boraeanus (intermediate). 
Rhizome said to be very short, vertical, and not creeping. Shoot very variable with regard to the 
degree of hairyness, often very hairy below. Leaves very deeply lobed, almost compound ; lobes of 
the stem-leaves, especially the upper ones, sublinear with acute sublinear lobelets. Bracts linear. 
Petals narrower than in var. steveni ; scale of nectary said to be longer than broad. 
(/ 3 ) var. multifidus forma tomophyllus comb. nov. ; R. tomophyllus Jordan Diagn. 71 (1864)!; R. acer 
subsp. boraeanus var. tomophylhis Rouy et Foucaud FI. France i, 102 (1893) ; R. acer var. tomophyllus White loc. cit. 
Camb. Brit. FI. iii. Plate 137. (a) Lower part of plant, (b) Stem and leaves. ( c ) A lower leaf. ( d ) Fertile 
branches. ( e ) Top of pedicel, and receptacle. (/) Achenes (one enlarged). Jersey (E. W. H.). 
Shoot densely hairy below. 
R. acris var. multifidus is common throughout the British Isles. 
Northern and western France (Boreau, op. cit.), and to a less extent in many other parts of Europe ; 
naturalised in North America. 
(1 b ) R. acris var. steveni Lange Haandb. Danske FI. ed. 4, 593 (1886 — 88) emend.; White FI. Bristol 122 
(1912) inch var . friesianus p. 123 ; R. sylvaticus Thuiller FI. Env. Par. ed. 2, i, 276 (1799)?; Fries FI. Suec. Mant. 
iii, 50 (1842)!; R. steveni Andrz. ex [Besser suppl. iii ad Catal. Plant. Hort. Botan. Gymnas. Volhyn. Cult. 19 
(1814);] Besser Enum. PI. Volhyn. 22 (1822); Boreau FI. Centr. France ed. 3, ii, 15 (1857) inch R. rectus, 
R. vulgatus, R. friesianus p. 16; ?R. acris var. sylvaticus DC. Syst. Nat. i, 278 (1818); R. acer subsp. eu-acris 
Syme Eng. Bot. i, 38 (1863) inch subsp. friesianus p. 39; R. acris subsp. steveni Rouy et Foucaud FI. France 
i, 103 (1893). 
leones : — FI. Dan. t. 2415, as R. acris-, Svensk Bot. t. 375, as R. acris-, Curtis FI. Lond. i, t. 109, as R. acris ; 
Woodville Med. Bot. t. 246, as R. acris ; Reichenbach Icon, iii, t. 17, fig. 4605, as R. steveni-, et fig. 4606 as 
R. acris et R. parvulus. 
Camb. Brit. FI. iii. Plate ij 8 . (a) Plant in flower, (b) Part of pedicel (enlarged), (e) Top of pedicel, and 
receptacle (enlarged), (d) Lower part of petal (enlarged). ( e ) Achenes (one enlarged). Perthshire (C. E. M.). 
Exsiccata: — Billot, 1106 ter, as R. sylvaticus-, 2205, as R. acris-, 2206, as R. friesianus-, 3504, as R. tomo- 
phyllus (intermediate; collected at Thirsk in Yorkshire by J. G. Baker); Fries, xi, 31, as R. sylvaticus ; Huter 
(Iter. Hisp .), 943, as R. steveni var. granitus ; Herb. FI. Ingric. i, 18, as R. acris. 
Rhizome said to be short and oblique. Shoot hairy, especially below, with spreading hairs. 
Laminae less deeply cut than in var. multifidus , lobes much broader and those of the lower leaves often 
overlapping, lobelets obtuse. Bracts usually not simple. Petals broadly obovate ; scale of nectary 
said to be about as broad as long. 
