Online Encyclopedia

tadpole (dim. of rana, frog), was also given to a medicinal plant, which has been identified by some with the crowfoot. The Ranunculi are more or less acrid herbs, sometimes with fleshy See also:

root-See also:

fibres, or with the See also:

BASE

base of the See also:

STEM (O. Eng. staefn, stemn, cf. Du. stain, Ger. Stamm, &c., probably related to " staff ")

stem dilated into a See also:

KIND (O. E. ge-cynde, from the same root as is seen in " kin," supra)

kind of tuber (R. bulbosus). They have tufted or alternate leaves, dilated into a sheath at the base, and very generally, but not universally, deeply divided above. The See also:

FLOWERS, ARTIFICIAL

flowers are solitary, or in loose cymes, and are remarkable for the number and distinctness (freedom from See also:

union) of their parts. Thus there are five sepals, as many petals, and numerous spirally arranged stamens and carpels. The petals have a little See also:

PIT (O. E. pytt, cognate with Du. put, Ger. Pfutze, &c., all ultimately adaptations of Lat. puteus, well, formed from root pu-, to cleanse, whence gurus, clean, pure)

pit or See also:

HONEY (Chin. me ; Sansk. madhu, mead, honey; cf. A.S. medo, medu, mead; Gr. p Xt, in which 0 or b is changed into X; Lat. mel ; Fr. miel ; A.S. hung ; Ger. Honig)

honey-gland at the base, which is interesting as foreshadowing the more fully See also:

DEVELOPED

developed tubular petals of the nearly allied genera Aconilum and Hellebores. The See also:

FRUIT (through the French from the Lat. fructus; frui, to enjoy)

fruit is a See also:

head of " achenes "—dry, one-seeded fruits. The genus contains a large number of See also:

SPECIES

species (about 250) and occurs in most temperate countries in the See also:

NORTHERN

northern and See also:

SOUTHERN

southern hemispheres, extending into See also:

ARCTIC (Gr. "ApKroc, the Bear, the northern constellation of Ursa Major)

arctic and See also:

antarctic regions, and appearing on the higher mountains in the tropics. About twenty species are natives of See also:

GREAT

Great See also:

BRITAIN (Gr. Hperavuml vi7vot, Bperravia; Lat. Britannia, rarely Britannia)

Britain. R. acris, R. repens, R. bulbosus, are the See also:

COMMON

common buttercups. R. arvensis, found in cornfields, has smaller See also:

PALE (through Fr. pal, from Lat. palms, a stake, for paglus, from the stem pag- of pangere, to fix; " pole " is from the same original source)

pale yellow flowers and the achenes covered with stout spines.

R. Lingua, spearwort, and R. Flammula, lesser spearwort, grow in marshes, ditches and wet places. R. Ficaria is the pilewort or lesser See also:

CELANDINE

celandine, an See also:

early See also:

SPRING (from " to spring," " to leap or jump up," " burst out," O. Eng., springau, a common Teut. word, cf. Ger. springer, possibly allied to Gr. QnrFpxecOac, to move rapidly)

spring See also:

flower in pastures and See also:

WASTE (O. Fr. wast, guast, gast, gaste; Lat. vastus, vast, desolate)

waste places, characterized by having See also:

heart-shaped entire leaves and clusters of See also:

CLUB (connected with " clump ")

club-shaped roots. The See also:

section Batrachium comprises the See also:

WATER

water-buttercups, denizens of pools and streams, which vary greatly in the See also:

CHARACTER (Gr. xapareri7p, from xap&crew, to scratch)

character of the foliage according as it is submersed, floating or aerial, and when submersed varying in accordance with the See also:

DEPTH

depth and strength of the current. The ranunculus of the florist is a cultivated See also:

FORM (Lat. forma)

form of R. asiaticus, a native of the See also:

LEVANT

Levant, remarkable for the range of See also:

COLOUR (Lat. color, connected with celare, to hide, the root meaning, therefore, being that of a covering)

colour of the flowers (yellow to purplish See also:

black) and for the regularity with which the stamens and pistils are replaced by petals forming See also:

double flowers. R. asiaticus is one of the older florists' flowers, which has sported into numberless varieties, but was formerly held in much greater esteem than it is at the See also:

PRESENT

present See also:

time. According to the canons of the florists, the flowers, to be perfect, should be of the form of two-thirds of a See also:

ball, the outline forming a perfect circle, with the centre See also:

close, the petals smooth-edged, the colour dense, and the marking See also:

UNIFORM

uniform. The ranunculus requires a strong and moist See also:

SOIL

soil, with a See also:

FOURTH

fourth of rotten dung. The soil should be from 18 in. to 2 ft. deep, and at about 5 in. below the See also:

SURFACE

surface there should be placed a stratum 6 or 8 in. thick of two-See also:

YEAR

year-old rotten cow-dung, mixed with See also:

earth, the earth above this stratum, where the roots are to be placed, being The See also:

TURBAN

turban varieties, which are very showy for the See also:

BORDERS, THE

borders, are of a few See also:

POSITIVE (or PORTABLE) ORGAN

positive See also:

COLOURS, MILITARY

colours, as See also:

SCARLET

scarlet, yellow, See also:

brown, See also:

CARMINE

carmine, and See also:

white. The florists' varieties have been bred from the See also:

Persian type, which is more delicate.

Other species known in gardens are R. aconitifolius (white See also:

BACHELOR (from Med. Lat. baccalarius, with its late and rare variant baccalaris—cf. Ital. baccalare—through O. Fr. bacheler)

bachelor's buttons), with leaves recalling See also:

ACONITE (Aconitum)

aconite, and white flowers; the double-flowered form is known in gardens as See also:

FAIR

fair maids of See also:

France or fair maids of See also:

Kent. A double-flowered form of R. acris is grown under the name yellow bachelor's buttons. R. bulbosus also has a See also:

PRETTY

pretty double-flowered variety. Of dwarfer interesting See also:

PLANTS

plants there are R. alpestris, 4 in., white; R. gramineus, 6 to 10 in., yellow; R. parnassifolius, 6 in., white; and R. rutaefalius, 4 to 6 in., white with See also:

orange centre. Of the taller kinds mention may be made of R. cortusaefolius, a See also:

FINE

fine buttercup, 3–5 ft. high, from See also:

TENERIFFE [Tenerife]

Teneriffe, and See also:

hardy in the mildest parts of Britain; and R. hyalli, known as the New See also:

ZEALAND (also SEALAND Or SEELAND; Danish Sjaelland)

Zealand water See also:

LILY

lily. It is a handsome species, 2 to 4 ft. high, with large peltate leaves often a foot in See also:

DIAMETER (from the Cr. &a, through, µErpov, measure)

diameter, and with waxy white flowers about 4 in. across. It is not quite hardy, and even under the best conditions is a difficult plant to grow well.

End of Article: RANUNCULUS

Additional information and Comments

There are no comments yet for this article.

» Add information or comments to this article.

Please link directly to this article:
Highlight the code below, right click, and select "copy." Then paste it into your website, email, or other HTML.

Site content, images, and layout Copyright © 2006 - Net Industries, worldwide.
Do not copy, download, transfer, or otherwise replicate the site content in whole or in part.

Links to articles and home page are always encouraged.

[back]
RANUNCULACEAE

[next]
RAO, SIR DINKAR (1819–1896)