387 
POLYGONACEJE. (BUCKWHEAT FAMILY.) 
bristly on the midrib and margins; sheaths bristly-ciliate ; spikes elon¬ 
gated, cylindrical, drooping, on long bristly-glandular peduncles, rath¬ 
er dense ; stamens 6-8; style 2-parted ; fruit lenticular, tumid, very 
smooth and shining. (D ? — Shaded swamps, Vermont to Rhode 
Island, and doubtless westward. Aug., Sept. — Leaves 4' -10' long, 
roughish; the spikes 1' —4' long, nodding as in No. 2. Flowers rose- 
purple, somewhat tinged with green. 
4* P» Peniisylviinicuiu, L. (Hairy-stalked Persicaria.) 
Stem upright (2°-3° high), smooth below, the branches above and pe¬ 
duncles glandular-hairy ; leaves lanceolate, taper-pointed, roughish 
on the margins and veins; sheaths naked ; spikes oblong, erect or near¬ 
ly so, densely-Jlowered ; stamens 6-8; style 2-parted ; fruit lenticular, 
smooth and shining. 0—Moist places, common. July-Oct. Flow¬ 
ers rose-color. 
5- P« Persicaria, L. (Lady’s Thumb.) Stem smooth (12' 
-18' high) ; leaves lanceolate , pointed, roughish, usually marked, with 
a dark triangular or lunar spot near the middle; sheaths fringed ; 
spikes ovoid-oblong or cylindrical, dense, erect, on smooth (or at least 
not glandular) peduncles ; stamens mostly 6; styles 2, united for nearly 
half their length ; fruit gibbous-flattened or rarely triangular, smooth 
and shining. Q) — Waste and damp places, very common : intro¬ 
duced. July, Aug. — Spikes about 1' long, greenish-purple. — Plant 
not acrid. 
6- P. lupatliifolium, L. (PalePersicaria.) Stem smooth; 
leaves ovate-lanceolate or oblong-lanceolate , taper-pointed, smoothisb, 
sometimes roughish-glandular beneath; upper sheaths somewhat fring¬ 
ed; spikes cylindrical or oblong, erect or nodding, on minutely gland- 
ular-roughish peduncles; stamens mostly 6; styles 2, distinct and at 
length divergent; nut flattened, smooth and shining. <|) — A poly¬ 
morphous species, nearly allied to the last, to which Meisner joins it: 
I have seen no undoubted American specimens. 
^ ■ P* Hydropiper, L. (Water-Pepper. Smart-weed.) 
Smooth (12' -18' high) ; leaves lanceolate, marked with pellucid dots , 
wavy-margined ; sheaths inflated , fringed ; spikes slender and interrupt¬ 
ed, drooping (finally erect) ; calyx dotted with glands; stamens 6-8; 
styles 2 — 3, united at the base ; fruit either lenticular or 3-sided, 
opaque, roughish. @ (P. hydropiperoides, Pursh. P. punct^tum, 
Ell.) — Low grounds, very common. Aug., Sept. — A well-known, 
intensely acrid plant. Flowers greenish-white. 
8 P* hydropiperoides, Michx. (Mild Water-Pepper.) 
Stem smooth, upright or ascending, often rooting at the joints along 
the base (2°- 3P high) ; leaves lanceolate, roughish or somewhat hairy 
or ciliate ; sheaths fringed with long bristles; spikes slender, loosely- 
flowered, weak ; stamens 7-8; styles 3, united below; fruit 2-sided, 
smooth and shining. ^ (P. mite, Pers , not of Schrank.) — Swamps 
