Abstract
AT the present time considerable attention is being paid to these familiar wild flowers, comprising the genus Ranunculus, the largest one in that attractive family the Ranunculaceæ. Parkin has in recent years (Annals of Botany 42; 1928) emphasised the fact that in this genus two distinct types of petal occur—one yellow and glossy, typical of the common buttercups of our fields and meadows; and the other white (occasionally yellow or even red), with a mat surface, exemplified only in Great Britain by the water buttercups (Batrachium section). The former type of petal is probably unique among flowers, possessing peculiar structural features, one of which is the large amount of starch contained in it and restricted to the part that is glossy. It is suggested that this large genus might be conveniently and perhaps also phylogenetically divided into two sub-genera—one containing the glossy and the other the mat petalled species.
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Recent Work on Buttercups. Nature 126, 631–632 (1930). https://doi.org/10.1038/126631b0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/126631b0