﻿70 
  KEY 
  AND 
  FLORA 
  

  

  I. 
  RUMEX 
  L. 
  

  

  Coarse 
  herbs, 
  many 
  of 
  them 
  troublesome 
  weeds. 
  Flowers 
  

   small, 
  usually 
  green 
  or 
  greenish, 
  generally 
  in 
  whorls 
  borne 
  in 
  

   panicled 
  racemes. 
  Calyx 
  of 
  6 
  nearly 
  distinct 
  sepals, 
  the 
  3 
  

   inner 
  ones 
  larger 
  and 
  more 
  petal-like 
  than 
  the 
  3 
  outer, 
  and 
  one 
  

   or 
  more 
  of 
  them 
  usually 
  with 
  a 
  little 
  knob 
  or 
  tubercle 
  on 
  its 
  

   back. 
  Stamens 
  6; 
  styles 
  3; 
  stigmas 
  short, 
  fringed. 
  Fruit 
  a 
  

   3-angled 
  akene, 
  closely 
  covered 
  by 
  the 
  3 
  inner 
  calyx 
  lobes, 
  

   enlarged 
  and 
  known 
  as 
  valves. 
  

  

  1. 
  R. 
  crispus 
  L. 
  YELLOW 
  DOCK. 
  Stout, 
  smooth, 
  3-4 
  ft. 
  high. 
  

   Leaves 
  lanceolate, 
  margins 
  very 
  wavy, 
  acute, 
  the 
  lower 
  more 
  or 
  

   less 
  heart-shaped. 
  Root 
  long, 
  tapering 
  gradually 
  downward, 
  yellow, 
  

   very 
  tough. 
  Flowers 
  in 
  whorls 
  crowded 
  in 
  long, 
  straight, 
  slender 
  

   racemes. 
  Valves 
  roundish-heart-shaped, 
  mostly 
  tubercled. 
  A 
  very 
  

   hardy 
  weed, 
  naturalized 
  from 
  Europe. 
  

  

  2. 
  R. 
  verticillatus 
  L. 
  SWAMP 
  DOCK. 
  Perennial. 
  Stem 
  stout, 
  smooth, 
  

   erect 
  or 
  ascending, 
  3-5 
  ft. 
  tall. 
  Lower 
  leaves 
  oblong, 
  obtuse 
  at 
  the 
  

   apex 
  and 
  usually 
  heart-shaped 
  at 
  the 
  base, 
  long-petioled, 
  often 
  12-18 
  

   in. 
  long; 
  upper 
  leaves 
  narrower 
  and 
  often 
  acute 
  at 
  both 
  ends. 
  Flowers 
  

   bisexual 
  or 
  somewhat 
  monoecious, 
  in 
  dense 
  whorls 
  ; 
  pedicels 
  slender, 
  

   -f 
  in. 
  long, 
  tapering 
  downward, 
  reflexed 
  at 
  maturity. 
  Calyx 
  green, 
  

   the 
  valves 
  broadly 
  triangular, 
  abruptly 
  pointed, 
  reticulated, 
  a 
  distinct 
  

   long 
  and 
  narrow 
  tubercle 
  on 
  the 
  back 
  of 
  each. 
  Swamps 
  and 
  wet 
  

   ground.* 
  

  

  3. 
  R. 
  Acetosella 
  L. 
  SHEEP 
  SORREL. 
  Perennial 
  herbs 
  with 
  slender 
  

   creeping 
  and 
  bud-hearing 
  roots. 
  Stem 
  simple 
  or 
  branched, 
  smooth. 
  

   Leaves 
  petioled, 
  narrowly 
  halberd-shaped, 
  usually 
  widest 
  above 
  the 
  

   middle, 
  the 
  apex 
  acute 
  or 
  obtuse 
  ; 
  upper 
  stem 
  leaves 
  often 
  nearly 
  

   linear 
  and 
  not 
  lobed. 
  Flowers 
  dioecious, 
  small, 
  in 
  terminal, 
  naked, 
  

   panicled, 
  interrupted 
  racemes. 
  Calyx 
  greenish 
  ; 
  the 
  pistillate 
  pani- 
  

   cles 
  becoming 
  reddish. 
  Fruit 
  less 
  than 
  T 
  V 
  in. 
  long, 
  granular, 
  longer 
  

   than 
  the 
  calyx. 
  A 
  common 
  weed, 
  naturalized 
  from 
  Europe, 
  in 
  dry 
  

   fields 
  and 
  on 
  sour 
  soils. 
  Foliage 
  very 
  acid.* 
  

  

  II. 
  POLYGONUM 
  L. 
  

  

  Annual 
  or 
  perennial, 
  terrestrial 
  or 
  aquatic 
  herbs, 
  with 
  en- 
  

   larged 
  joints 
  and 
  simple, 
  alternate, 
  entire 
  leaves 
  ; 
  the 
  sheath- 
  

   ing 
  stipules 
  often 
  cut 
  or 
  fringed. 
  Flowers 
  bisexual, 
  usually 
  

   white 
  or 
  rose-colored, 
  each 
  flower 
  or 
  cluster 
  subtended 
  by 
  a 
  

   mernbranaceous 
  bract 
  similar 
  to 
  the 
  stipules 
  of 
  the 
  leaves. 
  

  

  