OCTAND. TRIGYN. 121 



From 4 to 8 inches high, slender. Spike linear ; lower part of it 

 jjenerally with little viviparous bulbs of a tine red colour. Stain. S. 

 S.tiiles',i. Perianth pale fle.sli-coloured, almost white. — 'J'his species 

 increases much by the bulbs, and little if at all by seed, the trique- 

 trous germen proving abortive. 



ft Flowers spiked, terininal or axillarij. Nii'ts ovate. (Persicaria.) 



3. P. aniphibium {ompldhivus Persicaria), flowers peiitaiidrous, 

 styles forked, spike obiongo-ovatc, leaves petiolate eordato- 

 laiieeolate rough at the margins. Liglilf. p. 207. E. B. i. 43(J. 



a. aqaaticiun, leaves floating broadly lanceolate glabrous, spikes 



()l)iong. 

 |3. lerrestre, nearly erect, leaves narrow lanceolate rough with 



short rigid apj)ressed hairs on both sides, spikes ovate. 

 Mab. Ponds, lakes, and ditches, or their margins, frequent. Fl. July, 



Aug. 1/ . 

 Stem 2 — 3 feet long, scarcely branched \vhen growing in the water. 



Leaves arising from long tubular sheaths or stipules, glabrous in p., 



but hispid in a. Spikes mostly sohtary, terminal, bright rose colour. 



The only perennial species of the Persicaria family. 



4. P. Persicaria (spoiled Persicaria), flowers hexandrous, styles 

 forked, leaves lanceolate (often spotted), spikes oblong erect 

 their peduncle smooth, stipules fringed. Ligktf. p. 207. -E. B. 

 t. 75f). 



Hab. Moist ground and waste places, frequent. Fl. Aug. 0. 



Stem erect, branched, 1 foot to 2 feet high. Spikes terminal and la- 

 teral, dense, greenish, the tips of the flowers rose-coloured. Leaves 

 nearly sessile, glabrous ; but there are said to be vars. with hoarv 

 leaves . 



5. P. lapathi folium {pale -flowered Persicaria)^ flowers hexan- 

 drous with 2 distinct styles, leaves ovato-lanceolate shortly pe- 

 tiolate, spikes oblong erect their peduncle rough, stipules not 

 frin<red. E. B. t. 1382. 



Hab. Fields and dunghills, frequent. FZ. Aug. ©. 



One foot or 1 foot and a half high. A very variable species ; but the 

 above characters, so ably pointed out by Mr. Curtis, are very con- 

 stant. Sometimes the stem is spotted, and sometimes the under- 

 side of the leaf is hoary. The flowers are either a pale green, almost 

 white, or of a reddish tint. Spikes dense, terminal and lateral, 



6. P. Hj/dropiper (biling Per^/car/a), flowers hexandrous, styles 

 forked, leaves lanceolate waved and spotless, spikes lax flliforni 

 drooping, stem erect. Liglilf p. 207. E. B. t. f)S9. 



Hab. By the sides of ditches and lakes. Fl. Aug. Sept. 0. 



One foot to 3 feet high, erect. Remarkable for its slender, long, more 



or less drooping spikes of distant reddish flowers ; they are lateral 



and terminal. 

 7r P. tninus [siyudl creeping Persicaria), flowers hexandrous, 



btylc undivided, leaves lincar-kmeculatc plane very sliortlype- 



