The authors do not agree with the conception held by Miss SMIT (1970) that all the specimens of Caltha palustris in the Netherlands with a vegetative propagation belong to C. palustris L. var. radicans (Forst.) Beck. The plants in the lower regions of the tidal fresh water area never possess a prostrate stem, but the high, erect, flowering stem can be struck down by the movement of the water.