Page:Manual of the New Zealand Flora.djvu/63

Ranunculus.] 28. R. Cheesemanii, T. Kirk, Students' Fl. 17.—Stems much branched, stout, grooved, prostrate, often rooting at the nodes, sparingly strigose-pubescent, especially on the leaf-sheaths. Radical and cauline leaves alike; petioles very short, broadly sheathing at the base; blade ⅓–¾ in. diam., broadly cuneate, 3-lobed or -toothed at the tip; surfaces glabrous or nearly so. Peduncles axillary, ½–1 in. long. Flowers not seen. Fruiting-receptacle small, glabrous, papillose. Achenes few, turgid, glabrous; style short, straight or hooked.

29. R. ternatifolius, ''T. Kirk in Trans. N.Z. Inst.'' x. (1878) App. 29.—Slender, sparingly pilose with long weak hairs, 1–4 in. high. Stems or branches numerous, long, weak, procumbent or prostrate, often rooting at the nodes, sometimes interlaced and matted. Leaves on long slender petioles 1–3 in. long; blade 3-foliolate or 3-ternate, primary leaflets on long petiolules, segments small, entire or 3-lobed, acute. Peduncles ¼–1 in. long., usually on the branches opposite the leaves. Flowers minute, $1⁄6$–$1⁄4$ in. diam. Sepals 5, ovate, pilose, membranous. Petals 5, linear-oblong, clawed at the base, with a single gland above the claw. Achenes 5–10, slightly compressed, glabrous; style short, stout, hooked at the tip.—Students' Fl. 18. R. trilobatus, ''Kirk in Trans. N.Z. Inst. ix. 547 (not of Kit.)''.

30. R. depressus, ''T. Kirk in Trans. N.Z. Inst.'' xii. (1880) 393.—Small, depressed, rarely more than 1½ in. high, more or less clothed, with long straight hairs, usually forming matted patches. Rootstock short, often giving off short stolons, in large specimens sometimes branched at the top. Leaves numerous, all radical, on decurved petioles ½–1½ in. long with broad sheathing bases; blade very variable in size and cutting, ¼–¾ in. long, ovate in outline, usually trifoliolate with the leaflets ternately or pinnately cut into narrow-linear segments, sometimes less divided, 3-lobed with broader segments, or occasionally nearly entire. Scapes stout, much shorter than the leaves, 1-flowered. Sepals 5, ovate, membranous. Petals 5, oblong, slightly exceeding the sepals, with a gland just above the base. Carpels few, 4–8, hidden among the leaves, ovate, slightly turgid; style very minute.—Kirk, Students' Fl. 17.

Var. glabratus, Kirk, l.c.—Smaller and nearly glabrous. Leaves minute, 3-lobed, lobes flat, acutely pointed. Achenes smaller.