BUCKWHEAT FAMILY 



53 



9. Rumex obtusifdlius L. Bitter Dock. Fig. 1438. 



Rumex obtusifolius L. Sp. PL 335. 1753. 



Perennial from a stout taproot, glabrous, dark green; stem stout, erect, simple or sparingly 

 branched, 6-12 dm. high. Lower leaves broadly oblong-lanceolate, 10-35 cm. long, long-petioled, 

 acutish or obtuse at the apex, cordate or rounded at base, the margins slightly undulate and 

 crisped, the upper much reduced and short-petioled ; panicle rather open, leafy, the racemes 

 elongated, but little interrupted; pedicels longer than the fruit, jointed below the middle; valves 

 4-5 mm. long, hastate, margins with a few spreading spinose teeth, one of them bearing a small 

 grain ; achene 2 mm. long, reddish brown, shining. 



A weed in low moist ground, Upper Sonoran and Transition Zones; frequent in the Pacific States, and widely 

 distributed over the continent, naturalized from Europe. June-Dec. 



10. Rumex persicarioides L. Golden Dock. Fig. 1439. 



Rumex persicarioides L. Sp. PL 335. 1753. 



Annual, pubescent, rather pale yellowish green, the stem stout, leafy, simple or diffusely 

 branched, 3-10 dm. high. Leaves lanceolate, 3-25 cm. long, the lower often cordate or sagittate 

 at base, the upper narrowed, the margins undulate and often crisped; flower-whorls crowded in 

 dense or somewhat interrupted leafy compound racemes; pedicels very short; valves rhombic- 

 oblong, attenuate at apex, each bearing 1-3 elongated bristles on each margin, and an oblong 

 grain on the back; achene 1.5 mm. long, smooth and shining, the sides slightly convex and the 

 angles somewhat winged. 



Wet, especially brackish places, Upper Sonoran and Transition Zones; British Columbia to southern Cali- 

 fornia and across the continent. Closely related to R. maritimus L. of the Old World Recently our plants have 

 been referred to R. fueginus Philippi, of Chile, by Rech. f. Field Mus. Bot. Ser. 17: 136. 1937. Type locality: 

 Virginia. May-Sept. 



1441 



1439. Rumex persicarioides 



1440. Rumex paucifolius 



1441. Rumex Acetosella 



1442. Oxyria digyna 



