Ranunculus cantoniensis
DC., Prodr. 1: 43. 1824. R. napaulensis DC., Prodr. 1:
39. 1824. R. trilobatus D. Don, Prodr. Fl. Nepal. 194. 1825 (non Desf. 1978). R. fibrosus
Wallich ex Hook. f. & Thomson, Fl. Ind. 37. 1855. R. pensylvanicus auct. non L. f.; Hook.
f. & Thomson in Fl. Brit. India 1: 19. 1872, p. p. R. riparius Edgew. in Trans. Linn. Soc.
20: 18. 1846.
Herbs, erect or prostrate and rooting at base, 0.2 -
1 m high, profusely branched,
hirsute. Radical leaves 3-foliolate or ternatisect, appressed pubescent; petioles broad and sheathing at base, 20 - 30 cm long; leaflets 4 -
8 x 5 - 10 cm, tripartite and deeply cut
into narrow oblanceolate, coarsely toothed segments, palmately nerved. Cauline leaves trifoliolate, progressively shorter, from stalked to sessile; petioles up to 4 -
5 cm long;
leaflets ternisect, irregularly serrate along margins, 4 -
6 x 5 - 7 cm, palmately nerved;
petiolules 1 -
5 cm long. Flowers solitary, 1.5 -
1.9 cm across, yellow; pedicels terminal,
leaf-opposed, 2 -
4 cm long. Sepals 5, elliptic-oblong, subobtuse, ca 5 x 3 mm, reflexed,
membranous along margins, hirsute. Petals 5, oblong, obovate, 7 - 8 x 3 -
5 mm, yellow
to creamy white, distinctly many-nerved, glabrous. Filaments many, linear, ca 2 mm
long; anthers ca 1 mm long, deep yellow. Receptacle subglobose, narrow, ca 4 x 3 mm,
hairy. Achenes many, in globose or oblong heads, broadly elliptic, cuneately suborbicular, compressed, surrounded by a narrow intramarginal rim, ca 2 mm across, shortly
beaked, glabrous or minutely granular, margined.
Fl. & Fr. April - Dec.
Distrib. India: N.W. Himalayas to N. E. India, Subtropical to temperate regions, on grassy slopes and often as a weed in irrigated fields, 1000-2500 m. Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya.
Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, China, Indo-china, Korea and Japan.
Notes. The two subspecies, subsp. riparius and subsp. napaulensis recognised by H. Reidl (in Kew Bull. 34: 364. 1979) cannot be maintained as these show continuous gradations within the broad range of the species.
Fl. & Fr. April - Dec.
Distrib. India: N.W. Himalayas to N. E. India, Subtropical to temperate regions, on grassy slopes and often as a weed in irrigated fields, 1000-2500 m. Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya.
Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, China, Indo-china, Korea and Japan.
Notes. The two subspecies, subsp. riparius and subsp. napaulensis recognised by H. Reidl (in Kew Bull. 34: 364. 1979) cannot be maintained as these show continuous gradations within the broad range of the species.
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