AN ENCYCLOPADIA OF HORTICULTURE. 
POLYGONUM (from polys, many, and gonu, a knee- 
joint ; referring to the numerous joints of the stem). Knot 
Grass or Weed. ORD. Polygonew. A very large genus 
(nearly 150 species) of. handsome, annual or perennial, 
greenhouse or hardy herbs or (rarely) under-shrubs, of 
variable habit, found throughout the world, but rare 
within the tropics. Flowers usually fasciculate, some- 
times so lax that they may be regarded as axillary; 
perianth funnel-shaped or campanulate, usually coloured, 
with five somewhat unequal segments; pedicels articu- 
lated above or below the middle. Leaves alternate, with 
ochreate stipules. A great number of the species, twelve 
G. 227. POLYGONUM ORIENTALE, showing Habit, detached 
Spike, and Single Flower. 
of which are British, are of no ornamental value — 
ever, but the following are desirable and worth growing. 
They are of the easiest possible culture in any ordinary 
garden soil, but they well repay generous treatment and 
a good position. P. cuspidatum and P. sachalinense 
are specially noteworthy and fine amongst hardy plants 
where space is allowed them to develop. The annuals 
are raised from seeds, sown in the open border, in spring, 
or raised in heat, and after- 
wards planted out. This latter 
plan is the best with such 
species as P. orientale, which, 
in a warm, sunny spot, in good, 
rich soil, forms a very fine 
plant. The perennials are in- 
creased by dividing the root- 
stocks. 
te, —— July. 
ov: s 
1. i lanceolate. Stem — 
FiG, 228, POLYGONUM SACHALINENSE, 
Polygonum—continued. 
P. amplexicaule (stem-clasping).* 7. — rose-red or 
in solitary Win racemes 2in. to 6 long. 
and October, <4. cordate-ovate or cordate: l 
acuminate, the lower long- — the upper se 
amplexicaul. Stems 2ft. to 3ft. high, from 
stock. Himalayas. Hardy Perennial he 
P. Bistorta. Bistort or Snakewji Fee, 8 
terminal, erect, solitary spik 
radical, lar e, oblong or ova 
petioles. . lft. Europe (Bri 
Perennial herb. (Sy. En. B. 124 
P. Brunonis (Brown’s). A syno 
P. ca — itatum (headed). fi. pitk 
om is vB Pel stalks, fro: : 
ellipti in. long, green, mark 
extending from the ‘midrib at the centre t e base rt the —— 
Stems slender, diffuse, hairy, rooting. North, India, A pretty 
little, cool greenhouse or r halt-hardy, perennial herb, with a neat, 
spreading habit. (Ref. B. 11.) 
P. chinense foliis-pictis (painted-leaved Chinese). l, some 
green, others purple, or all with a V-shaped mark, margined on * 
the —— with a dark line of deep pe le or blackis -green, 
China to India, &c. Hardy perennial herb. (B. M. 5238.) 
P. com: (compact).* fl. white, in ei racemes. Septe 
ber, l. somewhat crim h, 2ft. Japan, before 1875. This 
is probably a — of idatum ; but it is very distinct in 
the way implied — its — ing more compact and , and 
not more than The leaves, too; ribs of a much darker 
colour. Its habit is, a KORIS less than that of P. cus- 
pidatum. Hardy perennial herb. (B. M. 233 
P. cuspidatum (pointed-leaved).* fl. Lei —— . 
drooping, — panicles, 4in. to 5in. long, succeeded — 
fruits. Summ large, somewhat distichous, ove — 
cuspidate, seaplane: h. 4ft. to 8ft. Japan, 1825. ; 
rennial herb, of quick growth, and having long, — stoma, — 
t is best —— as an isolated specimen. See — — 
4 i oedh F. G. i., p. 137; R. G. 291.) Syn. eb — 
* gardens. 
filiforme variegatum (thread-like, variega’ 
— ee finely splashed or t marie with pale i 
soe Te ean, 
. orientale (Eastern).* rosy-purple or white, in 1 
= racemes, which Sos hoch torn terminal and A 
lL roe ovate-acuminate, or nearly — A to 
4ft., or sometimes nearly 1 East Indies, A e and 
free-growing, hardy annual, wie very robust stems, which give 
off numerous, lateral shoots. See Fig. 227. (B. M. 213.) — 
sachalinense (Sachalin).* jl. of a delicate te greenish-yellow 
—— in axil racemes; bracts ovate, long-pointed. Late — 
summer. l. broadly ovate or ovate-oblong, acuminate, the lower 
