Nh, Aworutetin Chin. 20, SG> bes tee, 
448 RANUNCULACEAE, [ Ranunculus. 
28. R. lappaceus Smith in Rees’ Cyplop. xxix (1819) n. 61.—Short, stem- 
less, more or less hairy or villous, 2-lO0in. high. Rootstock short, stout, 
sometimes branched at the top. Leaves numerous, usually all radical, on 
petioles 4-3in. long; blade }-l1}in. diam., cuneate or ovate or rounded 
in outline, sometimes entire or coarsely toothed, but more frequently 3-5- 
lobed or -partite, less commonly 3-foltolate or pinnately divided; lobes 
or segments generally toothed or crenate. Scapes 1 to many, usually 
leafless and 1-flowered, 1-9in. high, generally much longer than the leaves, 
densely clothed with spreading or appressed hairs. Flowers very variable 
in size, often a rich golden-yellow. Sepals 5, pilose, spreading. Petals 5, 
obovate; gland at the base. Achenes forming a smali rounded head, 
compressed or rarely slightly turgid, glabrous, margined; style short, 
recurved.—Hook. f. Fl. Tasm. 1 (1860) 6; Handb. N.Z. Fl. (1864) 7; 
Benth. Fl. Austral. i (1863) 12; 7. Kirk Students’ Fl. (1899) 15; Cheesem. 
Man. N.Z. #1. (1906) 20. 
Var. macrophyilus 7’. Kirk Students’ Fl. (1899) 15.—Larger. Leaves with petioles 
2-4 in. long; blade ?-i14in. diam., obscurely 3-lobed; margins crenate or toothed. 
Scapes 3-Sin. high. Flowers large. 
Var. multiseapus Hook. f. Handb. N.Z. Fl. (1864) 7.—Petioles shorter, 1-1} in. ; 
blade smaller, 1-3 in. diam., ovate or rounded, cuneate at the base, toothed or 3-lobed 
or 3-partite. Scapes numerous.—R. multiscapus Hook. f. Fl. Nov. Zel. i (1853) 9, 
t. 5. KR. muricatulus Col. in Trans. N.Z. Inst. xxiii (1891) 381 (still smaller, with the 
leaves occasionally entire). 
Var. pimpinellifolius Benth. Fl. Austral. i (1863) 12. —R. pimpinellifolius Hook. 
Journ. Bot. i (1834) 243; Ic. Plant. (1840) t. 260. 
Var. villosus 7. Kirk Students’ Fl. (1899) 15.—1-3 in. high, densely villous or 
silky in all its parts. Scape usually shorter than the leaves. Achenes slightly turgid. 
Norra, Sourn, AND Srewarr Isnanps: The var. multiscapus abundant from 
Hawke’s Bay and Taupo southwards, and ranging from sea-level to 4500 ft. Novem- 
ber—March. The remaining varieties not uncommon in mountain districts in the 
South Island. 
fh. lappaceus is probably the most variable of the New Zealand Ranunculi, and 
certainly the most difficult to characterize. The above arrangement of its forms is 
mainly that given by Kirk, with the addition of the Tasmanian variety pimpinellifolius, 
which occurs in several places in the mountains of the South Island. But the student 
must bear in mind that the distinctions used to separate the so-called varieties are purely 
arbitrary, every one of them being connected with the others by numerous intermediates. 
It is often difficult to separate some of the aberrant forms from the allied species, 
particularly from R. foliosus, when, as sometimes happens, the scape is branched, and 
the peduncles shorter than the leaves. A. hirtus can generally be distinguished by its 
greater size, more divided leaves, branched flowering stem, and reflexed sepals. 
29. R. foliosus 7. Kirk Students’ Fl. (1899) 14.—Stout or slender, 
4-12 in. high, more or less hirsute with long soft tawny hairs, especially on 
the scapes and petioles. Rootstock short, stout. Stems or branches often 
numerous, erec, or decumbent, leafy. Radical leaves numerous, on long 
petioles 3-Gin. long, with broad sheathing bases; blade 4-14 in. diam., 
variable in outline, obovate or ovate or rounded, cuneate or rounded at 
the base, rarely reniform with a cordate base, coarsely toothed or incised, 
or 5-lobed with the lobes again toothed or cut, both surfaces covered with 
long soft appressed hairs. Cauline leaves often opposite, or clustered 
towards the tops of the stems, lke the radical but smaller and on shorter 
petioles. Peduncles variable, always shorter than the leaves; in large 
specimens some often spring from among the radical leaves, and are 
