Ranunculus auricomus Linnaeus, Species Plantarum 1: 551. 1753.

"Habitat in Europae pascuis humidiusculis." RCN: 4073.

Lectotype (Benson in Amer. Midl. Naturalist 52: 354. 1954): Herb. Clifford: 229, Ranunculus 8 (BM-000628885) .

Current name: Ranunculus auricomus L. ( Ranunculaceae).

Note: Ranunculus auricomus was treated as the generitype by Britton & Brown (Ill. Fl. N. U. S., ed. 2, 2: 104. 191); see McNeill & al. (in Taxon 36: 381. 1987). However, under Art. 10.5, Ex. 7 (a voted example) of the Vienna Code, this is a type choice made under the American Code and is to be replaced under Art. 10.5b by Green’s choice (Prop. Brit. Bot.: 163. 1929) of R. acris L.

Jasiewicz (in Fragm. Fl. Geobot. 2: 70. 1956), aware that 715.21 and 715.22 (LINN) represented more than one taxon (illustrated as t. 4, f. 1,2), rejected the name as a nomen ambiguum. Kvist (in Ann. Bot. Fenn. 24: 73-77. 1987) also discussed and illustrated (as f. 2 and 4) these specimens and concluded that 715.22 (LINN) should be the lectotype. These authors were apparently unaware of Benson’s earlier choice, as noted by Ericsson (in Ann. Bot. Fenn. 29: 134. 1992), who also discusses the possible identity of the type.