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R A N U N C U L U S aquatilis.
Water Crow-foot.
P O L T A N D R I A Polygynta.
Gen. Char. CaL five-leaved. Petals five, with a honeybearing
pore on the infide of the claw of each. Seeds
naked.
Spec. Char. Leaves capillary under water, above
fomewhat peltate.
Syn. Ranunculus aquatilis. Linn. Sp. Pl. 781. HudJ.
FI. An. 243. With. Bot.Arr. 577. Relh. Cant. 216.
Rail Syn. 249. n. 3, and n. 4, 5 and 6.
■ A V E R Y common but beautiful ornament of ponds and
ditches, difplaying its elegant white flowers above the furface
of the water copioufly in May, and more fparingly throughout
June and July. The root is perennial, and throws up long
round Items, clothed with alternate leaves, with broad membranous
ftipulas at the bafe of their footftalks. Thefe leaves exhibit
a very curious phaenomenon, fuch as grow under water
being divided into fine capillary fegments, while thofe that fwim
on the furface are merely five-lobed and grofsly notched. Sometimes
all the leaves are capillary, none of them emerging from
the water, and in a ltrong ftream their outline is found much
lengthened out, apparently from the a&ion of the current.
Hence the feveral varieties mentioned by Ray and others. The
footftalks of the floating leaves are often very long, probably
ftretched by fupporting the plant. The nedtary is tubular. The
flowers vary a little in fize occafionally.