RANUNCULUS LINGUA. GREAT SPEARWORT.
RANUNCULUS Lingua; foliis lanceolatis acuminatis snbserratis, caule erecto multifloro.
RANUNCULUS Lingua. L im . Sp .PI-p .7 7 0 . Huds. Angl. p.,240. L ig h t/. Scot. p. aS6. FI.
M T)an t 755 With. Pot. Arr. ed.4,. w l.% p.4,9*. Hoffm. Germ. ed. 2. ml. 1.
P X* P. 252. Willd. Sp. PI. •col 2. p. 1308. Decani. FI. Fr. ed. 3 .vol. 4 .p .9 0 t.
FI Gall Svn ».418. Smith FI. Brit. p .'588. E n g L B o t .t .i00. Alton Hort.
K m . c d .T J l . 3. p. 352. P e n . W Ê PI. M 2. p. 102. Pursh K . Am. FI.
mil 2. p. 391. Book. Fl. SÇat. P . I - p - 173.
RANUNCULUS flammeus major. Great Spearwort. Rail Syn. p. 250. !
Dutch. Groote Egellcolen. Fr. Grande Dome. ■ Germ. Das grosse Speer kraut. Welsh. Blaen y
gwam mtoyaf.
Class a n d O r d e r . POLYANDRIA POLYGYNIA.
[N a t u r a l Or d e r . RANUNCULACEffi, Juts., Decani., Hook.-]
Ge n . Ch a r . Calyx pentaphyllus. Petala quinque, intra Uhgues poro mellifeto. Pericarpia nuda.
G e n . Ch a r . Calyx o f five leaves! Petals five, with a nectariferous pore at the base. Pericarps without awns.
R a d ix perennis, repens, crassa, fusco-viridis, fibrosa,
stolonifera.
Ca u l is erectus, tri- vel quadri-pedalis, subrigidus, fi-
stulosus, teres, glaber, vel pilis appressis scabrius-
culus, basi purpureus, superne viridis, ferrugineo
maculatus, subpaniculatim ramosus.
Folia oblöngo-lanceolata j caulina lanceolata, acuminata
; inferiora basi insigniter attenuata, sed vix
petiolata ; superiora sessilia ; omnia distantia, indistincte
nervosa, magis minusve pubescentia,
pilis appressis, (nunc omnino glabra,) subserrata,
rubro-marginata, basi dilatata, membranacea,
striata, amplexicaulia.
F lores magni, terminales, aureo-flavi.
Calycis poliola late ovata, concava, flavo-viridia.
P e ta la obovato-rotundata, basi squamula instructa.
St am in a numerosa, flava.
P ist il la numerosa, in capitulum eongesta, ovata,
gibbosa, flavo-viridia, stigmate sessili subobhquo
terminata.
Root perennial, creeping, thick, brownish green, fibrous
and stoloriiferous.
Stem erect, three or four feet high, subrigid, fistulose,
rounded, glabrous, or roughish with a few ap-
pressed hairs, purple at the base, green above
with ferruginous spots, and branched in a sub-
paniculated manner.
Leaves oblongo-ïanceolate; the cauline ones lanceolate
and acuminated, thé lower ones remarkably attenuated
at the base, but scarcely petiolated;
the upper ones quite se ssile ; all o f them distant,
indistinctly.nerved, more or less pubescent, with
appressed hairs (sometimes altogether glabrous),
subserrated, margined with red, dilated, membranaceous,
striated and amplexicaul at their
base.
Flowers large, terminal, golden-yellow.
Leafl et s o f the calyx broadly ovate, concave, yellow-
green.
P eta ls obovato-rotundate, having a small scale at the
base.
St am e n s numerous, yellow.
P istil s numerous, collected into a little head, ovate,
gibbous, yellow-green, terminated by the some-
| what oblique sessile stigma.
F ig .l. Petal. Fig. 2. Back view of a stamen. Fig. 3. Front view of the same. Fig. 4. Single pistil.
Although of far less common occurrence than many species of this genus, the Ranunculus Lingua isi by no
means rare in marshy places, where reeds and other aquatics grow, in various parts both of England and Scotland,
^T h e 'm o st conuiunf observer cannot fail to be shuck with the superior size of this plant and its flowers, and the
eminently bright golden hue of the. latter; yet when its specific characters are to be sought for, it is found difficult
to uoint out such as shall at once distinguish this from the Lesser Spearwort. In the smoothness and pubescence,
both the plants are liable to vary, those specimens being most glabrous which grow where there is the greatest depth
of waterP The most constant marks of distinction are, the upright mode ot growth in the Ranunculus Lingua,
which is unbranched nearly to the extremity; its vastly more acuminated cauline leaves, the lower ones not tapering
into decided petioles,Although they are remarkably attenuated into a membranous, deeply channelled base.
To these characters may be added the great size o f the flowers, and its tall stout stems. _ M l
The stem is fistulous m R . Lingua. In R . Flammula, according to Decandolle, it is solid; but Smith rightly
figures and describes it as hollow.