Perennial with ± fleshy, thickened or thin fibrous roots. Stems several, branching diffuse, sometimes prostrate and rooting at the nodes, covered with spreading to retrorse hairs. Basal and lower most stem leaves on long slender petioles up to 8 (-10) cm long, blade ternate, ovate in outline, primary segments shortly stalked, broadly ovate, acute, sometimes the central one deeply 3-lobed, the lateral ones bilobed or all only coarsely serrate-dentate, teeth acute, with appressed hairs on the darker upper and the dull green lower surface. Middle and upper stem leaves divided only to 2/3 or 3/4, otherwise similar to other leaves but smaller. Flowers white (or pale yellow?) small, 8-15 mm in diameter. Sepals 3-6 mm, ovate-lanceolate, 3-veined, with long patent hairs, membranous for the greater part. Petals oblong or narrowly obovate-oblong, without a claw. Receptacle short, glabrous. Carpels 1.5-2 mm, compressed, ovate, with a distinct broad margin, glabrous, usually granular on both sides. Style short, flattened, triangular, sometimes slightly incurved.

Fl. Per.: July-August.

Type: In Nepal, Wall. in hb. Lambert (BM).

D ir: B-6 D ir, Panakote, Farrukh Hussain 7066 (RAW), B-7 Swat: nr. Saidu Sharif, Rodin 5419 (RAW), Butkhela, M.A. Siddiqi & Y. Nasir 7395 (RAW), Hazara: Kund, 15.8.1899, Duthie s.n. (RAW), Kashmir: Lipa vy., 8.9.69, Jan Mohd. s.n. (RAW), Khai Gala, ± 7000', Jan Mohd. 88 (RAW).

Distribution: Afghanistan, Pakistan, Himalaya, India, China.

Of the many synonyms cited by Hook.f. & Thomson in Hook.f. (l.c.), only those mentioned above could be confirmed. Ranunculus motifs Wall. Catalogue 4704 ex. D. Don (in Royle, Ill. Bot. Himal. Mount. 53. 1834) has smooth, not granular achenes, but is not different in other characters from Ranunculus diffuses and could be a variety of it. Ranunculus hydrocotyloides. Wall., Catalogue 4703 is a nomen nudum and treated as a synonym of Ranunculus moths by D. Don in Royle, l.c. Ranunculus trilobatus D. Don, Prodr. 194. 1825, described from Nepal, Ranunculus geranioides Blume, Bijdr. 2. 1825. could not be examined and have not been described exactly enough to be judged from literature. Found from 700-3000 m.