606 Order 102.— POLYGON ACE^E. 



spreading, leafy, with remote axillary verticils, the highest leafless ; pedicels shorter 

 than the small fruit calyx ; valves ovate-oblong, blunt, all grain -bearing. — If. Ditches 

 and wet places, N. States, Can. St. 2 to 3f high. Lower lvs. on long petioles. 

 Grains large, red. May. § Eur. (R. acutus Sm.) 

 B R. sanguineus L. Red-veined Dock. Lvs. lance-oblong wavy, acuminate, 

 obtuse at base, or the lower cordate, mostly with red veins ; pan. leafless except 

 at base, whorls distant; pedicels shorter than fruit calyx; valves small, ol ovate- 

 old wj. obtuse, 1 or 2 of them grain-bearing. — Waste places, N. States and Can. 

 St. reddish, 2 to 3f high. Jl. § Eur. — In 3. viridis the veins are green. 



9 R. obtusifolius L. Lower lvs. ovate obtuse, cordate, wavy on the margin, upper 

 lance-oblong, acute or acuminate at each end, all petiolate ; panicle leafy, ichorls 

 distant ; pedicels as long as the fruit calyx ; valves hastate-ovate, with 3 or 4 spread- 

 ing, subulate teeth on each side, one valve chiefly grain-bearing. — N. Eng., Mid. 

 and W. States. A weed as unwelcome as the first, in fields, door-yards, &c. 

 St. 2 to of high. Lvs. large (G to 12' by 3 to 8'), sometimes red-veined. JL 

 § Eur. 



10 R. maritimua L. Golden Dock. Lvs. long-lanceolate, the lower abrupt at 

 base, the upper attenuate-acute at each end; whorls dense-flowered, the lower sub- 

 distinct, with linear bracts, upper confluent; pedicels filiform, longer' than fruit 

 calyx; valves rhombic-ovate, bearing 2 long, bristly teeth each side, with an acu- 

 minate point, all grain-bearing. — ® Bordi-rs of brackish waters, Mass. to S. Car. 

 Low ( 1 f ) and much branched. Calyx in fruit yellowish green, densely clustered. 

 Jl. (II. persicarioides Hook.) 



11 R. pulcher L. flower lvs. oblong, cordate, often fiddle-shaped, upper lanceo- 

 late, acute, obtuse at base; panicle leafy; whorls distant; pedicels shorter than 

 fruit calyx, thickened; valves ovate-oblong, unequally grain-bearing, each with 

 several straight, strong lateral teeth. — U About Charleston, S. C. (Elliott). Jn. 

 Jl. § Eur. 



12 R. Acetoseila L. Field Sorrel. Sheep Sorrel. Lvs. oblanceolate-has- 

 tate, about as long as the petioles, tho auricles divaricate, oblong, a third as long 

 as the Made, in tho upper lvs. smaller or wanting; fls. diceeious, valves not increas- 

 ing in fruit, nor grain bearing. — 2| A common weed in pastures and wa^te grounds 

 throughout the TJ. S., preferring dry, hard soils. St. G' to If high, leafy. Eva. 

 very acid, but pleasant to tho taste. Fls. small, red or reddish, collected in pan- 

 ic-led racemes, tho valves destitute of granules. Stamens and styles on separato 

 plants. Ju. — Aug. 



13 R. Engelmanni Ledeb. Lvs. lanceolato or linear, hastate, tho lower 2 or 3 

 times shorter than tho long petioles, the auricles very small, acutish, many times 

 shorter than tho blade; panicles entirely leafless ; fls. dioecious; valves increas- 

 ing in fruit, orbicular-cordate, grainless. — H Ga., Fla. to Tex., also Mo. Sts. 1 to 

 2f high, much farrowed. Lvs. pale beneath. Fls. purple. (R. hastatulus Baldw. 

 nee Campd.) 



5. THYS AN EL/LA, Gray. Calyx colored, 5-parted, lobes all erect, 

 the two outer cordate-sagittate at base, the 3 inner smaller, pectinate- 

 fimbriate ; stamens 8 ; styles 3 ; achenia 3-angled, acuminate. — A 

 smooth, erect herb, with the habit cf Polygonclla. (Polygonum, Ell.) 

 T. flmbriata Gray. — Pino barrens, Ga. and Fix St. 2 to 3f high, terete, branched. 



Sheaths truncate, cylindric, entire, striate, fringed with long, soft, white bristles, 

 bearing the leaf at top. Lvs. linear, parallel-veined, acute, 1 to 2' long. Fls. in 

 crowded, panicled spikes. Bracts (sheaths) obliquely truncate, tipped with a long 

 awn, 1-f lowered. Cal. white, tinged with roso color. Jl. — Oct 



6. POLYGONEL'LA, Mx. (Lat. diminutive, implying a little or 

 dwarf Polygonum.) Calyx 5-scpaled, colored, persistent and withering, 

 erect-spreading, or at length the 3 inner sepals increasing and conni- 

 vont ; stamens 8, included; styles 3 or almost wanting; achenia 3-cor- 

 nered, naked or inclosed in the 3 inner sepals become scarious valves ; 

 embryo straight, axilc or lateral in a groove at the angle of the albu- 



