Annual or perennial, caespitose in terrestrial state or spreading and 3 erect under water. All leaves divided with a globose to obovoid lamina and capillary, rigid or flaccid, divergent segments. Stipules adnate to petiole for at least 2/3 their length. Petiole upto 4 cm long. Peduncles 1-5 cm in fruit. Sepals 2.5-3.5 mm, spreading, caducous. Petals 3.5-5.5 mm, ovate to obovate, not contiguous, nectar pits lunate. Stamens 9-15. Receptacle hairy, permanently globose, bearing 16-30 carpels, hairy when young, glabrescent later. Style subterminal. Mature achenes more than 1.5 mm long.

Fl. Per.: March-May.

Neotype: Herb. Moller fil. (G). (Examined and designated as a neotype by Cooke, l.c.).

B-7 Swat: Mountain e. of Kalam, R.J. Rodin 5684 (RAW), Attock: C-7 Wah Gardens, Sultanul Ahedin 2731 (KUH).

Distribution: Europe, Asia, N. Africa, Central N. America.

Plants cited as Ranunculus aqualilis L. var. caespitosus (Thuill.) DC., Prodr. 1:26. 1824. (=Ranunculus caespitosus Thuill.) by Stewart probably belong to either Batrachium trichophyllum or Batrachium rionii. It is a terrestrial plant not more than 5-6 cm high with small leaves divided into comparatively short, rigid segments. The short peduncles suggest Batrachium trichophyllum, but there are no mature fruitlets for proper diagnoses. Only Lace’s collection was available for study, which did not show longer petals as is characteristic for a plant belonging to the Ranunculus aquatilis aggregate.