Ranunculus ophioglossifolius

Distribution

Status in Great Britain

• In 1789, adder's-tonguespearwort was first described by Dominique Villars in Histoire des plantes de Dauphiné.
• In June 1838, it was discovered in the Channel Islands at St Peter's Marsh on Jersey by Charles Cardale Babington.
• In 1843, Sowerby's English Botany included illustrations.
• Mentioned in 1846 by Edward Forbes in a classic article on a theory of floral distribution of the British Isles.
• In 1878 in England, a few specimens were found in a wet ditch at Hythe, Hampshire by Mr. H Groves.
• In 1884, the last known specimens were collected from St Peter's Marsh, Jersey and are in the Herbarium of Carlisle City Museum.
• In 1890, adder's-tongue spearwort was discovered at Cold Pool, Badgeworth by Mr. Buckell and Mrs. Frances Fawkes.
• In 1914, it was found in a wet meadow near Woodsford, Dorset by Professor R Good.
• In 1926, a second Gloucestershire site was found around a pond on Inglestone Common by Mrs C I Sandwith and Mr N Y Sandwith.
• In 1929, specimens were collected by Frere Louis-Arsene at Grouville, Jersey and are now in the Herbarium at the Natural History Museum.