lOS 1'olygonacejE. (buckwhkat family.) 



t>. R. pulcher, I- Bnuulics rij^id, siirwuliiif^; lowest kaves cordate- 

 ohlmig, ■^ciiiHwliut tiiMli'-stiiipfil, tlie uppiT liimcolali', acute; whorls remote; 

 valves luii;^er tlian the tliiik ]ieili«els, dvate-olilong, rigid, strongly toothed, 

 more or liss proiiiiiieiitly graiii-i)eariiig. — Arniiiid Charlestou (A7//V//). Iii- 

 trodured. June- July. 



". R. pei*sicarioideS, I- ruhesct'iu ; stem low, diffusely liranclied ; 

 li-avcs huiifoiatt-, \\a\y-iiiargiiu-(l, till' lower oues soincwliat corilate or has- 

 tate at tlie lia.M', tlie upjier liuear; wliorls coniiiactly crowded in leafy spikes; 

 valves small, liristly on the margins, nearly coveroil by the large grain. — 

 Coast of Ni>rth Caridina, and northward. A ugust - Sept. (l) — SlemsG'-12' 

 high. ISpikus yellowish. 



• » Flowers (iiucioiis. Ilirlis with smir juice. 

 ■*- L'uljix not <uhir<jcd in fruit. 



8. R. Acctosellei, L- Hoot creeping; stems low, erect or ascending; 

 leaves olilong, lanceolate, or linear, entire or liastate-lohed ; jianiide .slender, 

 leafless; wiiorls scattered, few-Howered ; valves ovate, grainless, ajjpre.ssed to 

 the acheuium. — Old fields and sterile soil, common. June -July. 11 — 

 Stems 6' - 1 2' loug. Leaves aud flowers small 



— -4- Inner cali/x lobes diluted in fruit. 



9. R, hastatulus, Bahlw. Stems clustered, erect; leaves glaucous, 

 lanceolate or linear, or the lowest oblong, entire or hastate-lobed ; whorls few- 

 flowered, scattered, or the upper ones crowded ; valves round-cordate, entire, 

 membranaceous, reticulated, red or white, graiuless. — Dry sauds along the 

 coast and in tiie middle districts, Florida to South Carolina. May- June. — 

 Stem 1^- H° high. Leaves l'-2'long, the upper oues mostly entire. 



2. POLYGONELLA, Michx. 



Flowers perfect or dia-cicjusly polygamous. Calyx corolla-like, deeply 5- 

 partcil or S-scpalous ; the three inner sepals mostly enlarging and enclosing 

 the 3-angled aciienium. Stamens 8 : anthers roundish. Stigmas 3, caj)itate. 

 Embrvo straight, or nearly so, in the centre, or at one side of the mealy all)U- 

 men. — Smootli and commonly glaucous herbs or shrubs, with slender branch- 

 ing stems, small alternate leaves, and small flowers in slender racemes. — 

 Sheaths smooth. Bracts iml)ricated, top-shaped, mostly l-Howered. Pedicels 

 nodding in fruit. 



§ I. KiroLYGONP:i>LA. — Filaments all alike, subulate : stir/mas nearly sessile : 

 flowers dlirriously polygamous: embryo in the centre oj' the albumen. 



1. P. parvifolia, Michx. Shrubby aud diffusely brancheil at the base; 

 leaves wedge-shajicd or linear-spatulate, vertical; racemes short, corymbose- 

 panicled ; bracts truncate ; flowers white, yellowish, or red ; exterior sepals 

 recurved; valves orbicular, equal, longer than the ovate achenium. — Dry 

 .sandy soil, near the coast. August- Sept. — Stem 1°- 2° high. Leaves i'- 1' 

 long. Racemes A' - 1' long. 



2. P. gracilis, Meisner. Annual ; stem tall and slender, paniculately 

 branched above ; leaves remote, wedge-oblong ; racemes slender, pauicled ; 



