560 POLYGONACEAE. 
‘15. Polygonum sul 2 aa Michx. Mild Water Pepper. (Fig. 1332.) 
P. hydropiperoides Michx. F1. Bor. Am. 1: 239. 1803. 
Polygonum mite Pers. Syn. 1: 440. 1805. 
Perennial, glabrous or strigillose, stem erect, decum- 
bent or prostrate, simple or branched above, slender, 
1°-3° long. Leaves narrowly lanceolate or oblong- 
lanceolate, varying to linear-lanceolate, 2/-6’ long, 
short-petioled, acute at apex, ciliate, pubescent with 
appressed hairs on the midrib beneath; ocreae cylin- 
dric, loose, strigose, fringed with long bristles; racemes 
panicled, terminal, erect, narrow, more or less inter- 
rupted, 114’-3/ long; calyx pink or greenish; stamens 
8; style 3-parted to below the middle; achene 3-angled, 
oyoid or oblong, 1’’-114’’ long, smooth, shining. 
In swamps and wet soil, New Brunswick to Minnesota 
and California, south to Florida and Mexico. June-Sept. 
Polygonum gd ota Macouni Small, Mem. Dept. 
Bot. Col. Coll. 1: 81. 1895. 
More robust than the type, stem 1°-3° long, clothed with 
stout appressed hairs; leaves lanceolate, obtuse; ocreo- 
lae more or less ciliate; calyx white or whitish, often con- 
spicuous. Quebec to West Virginia and Indiana. Also 
in California. 
16. Polygonum Hydropiper L. Smart-w ek Water Pepper. (Fig. 1333.) 
Polygonum Hydroptper ¥,. Sp. Pl. 361. 1753. 
Annual, glabrous, stem erect, simple or branched, 
red or reddish, sometimes green, 8/—24’ tall. 
Leaves lanceolate or oblong-lanceolate, 1/-4/ long, 
short-petioled, acute or acuminate at the apex, un- 
dulate or slightly crisped, punctate, ciliate, very 
acrid, ocreae cylindric, fringed with short bristles, 
sometimes slightly pubescent, usually swollen at 
the base by the development of several flowers 
within; racemes panicled, 1/-3’ long, narrow, 
drooping, interrupted; calyx green, 3-5-parted 
(usually 4-parted) conspicuously punctate; stamens 
4 or sometimes 6; style short, 2-3-parted; achene 
lenticular or 3-angled, broadly oblong or ovoid, 
slightly gibbous, 114’/-1%’’ long, granular, dull. 
In moist waste places, almost throughout North 
America. Naturalized from Europe in our area, per- 
haps indigenous in the far Northwest. July-Sept. 
17. Polygonum punctatum Ell. Dotted 
or Watér Smart-weed. (Fig. 1334.) 
P. punctatum Ell. Bot. S. C. & Ga. 1: 455. 1817. 
P. acre H.B.K. Nov. Gen. 2: 179. 1817. Not Lam. 
Annual or perennial, glabrous or very nearly so, 
stem erect or ascending, rarely prostrate, simple or 
branched, 1°-3° long. Leaves lanceolate or ob- 
long-lanceolate, 1’-8’ long, acuminate at both ends, 
petioled, ciliate, conspicuously punctate, acrid, the 
midrib often with a few scattered hairs; ocreae cy- 
lindric; falling away at maturity; fringed with long 
bristles; racemes terminal, narrow, erect or slightly 
drooping; loosely flowered, 1%4/-3’ long; calyx 
greenish; stamens 8; style 2-3 nite to the base; 
achene oblong, short, thick, fe eee or 3-angled, 
14’ long, smooth, shining. 
In swamps and wet places, throughout North Amer- 
ica except the extreme north. June-Oct. 
Polygonum punctatum leptostachyum ( Meisn.) Small, Bull. Torr. Club, 19: 356. 1892. 
Polygonum acre var. leptostachyum Meisn. in DC. Prodr. 14: 108. 1856. 
Rather smaller; stem slender, 1°-2° long; leaves narrower; racemes very slender and much in- 
