The largest and best known of these is Ranunculus lyallii, the so called 'Mount Cook Lily'. It seems that any large herb, especially if it has large, white flowers, as in this case, is inevitably and often erroneously page 177 termed a 'lily'. Ranunculus lyallii is most admired for its large, pure-white flowers up to 6 cm across (Fig. 99). It is equally remarkable for its large, rather floppy, almost circular leaves up to 30 cm in diameter (Fig. 100). Plants of this species may reach 1 m in height among tussocks or shrubs, particularly in moist places, throughout the South Island page 178mountains, except in the far north, and in Stewart Island. Other smaller, but still large, species have bright buttercup yellow flowers, for example the variable Ranunculus insignis throughout the axial ranges of the North Island and in the northern half of the South Island and R. nivicola in the tussock herbfield of Mt. Taranaki (Egmont) and also on the central North Island mountains. Ranunculus verticillatus, which is also yellow-flowered, is more slender and less conspicuous, but nevertheless common in the southern North Island and northern South Island. It often grows through, and is supported by, shrubs and snow tussocks.