Ranunculus
From Simon Online
Ranunculus Plinius ranunculum vocamus quam greci botrachion genera eius quattuor et cetera supra in botrachion.
Apparatus:
quattuor ABC | quatuor e | iiijor f
Translation:
Ranunculus: Pliny says: we {i.e. the Romans} call ranunculus that plant, which the Greeks call botrachion; and there are four different kinds of it, etc. See the entry Borachion above.
Commentary:
Ranunculus, lit. "little frog" is a loan translation from Greek βατράχιον /batrákhion/, the diminutive of βάτραχος /bátrakhos/ "frog". The motive for naming is that these plants prefer watery habitats.
For further information see Botrachion.
Wilf Gunther 23/01/14