KNOTGRASS 233 



contain honey; but the Hower only offers pollen. The llower is herma- 

 phrodite and homo^amous, and visitors by the position of anthers and 

 stamens self-pollinate the flower as well as cross-pollinate it. It is visited 

 by Ascia podagrica, Syritla pipiens, Mclithrcptus. It has cleistoganiic 

 flowers under the ochreae, as well as subterranean cleistooamic flowers. 



The fruit is triquetrous and enclosed in the perianth, which may 

 partly aid in its dispersal by the wind. 



Knotorass is a sand-loving plant addicted to sand soil. 



This plant is attacked by 2 rusts, Croiuyccs polygon i, Usiilago 

 iitricidosa, in the flowers, and galled i)\- slsychiia crratclla. .Several 

 beetles frequent it — Gastroidca po/vgoiu, Sperchetis ouaiginatus, Apioii 

 difformc, Gastrophysa polygoni; 3 moths. Brown Russet {Riissiiia tcnc- 

 bfosa), Blood-vein [Bradycpcfcs aiiiataria), and Asvchua a-ra/c/Ia; and 

 a Homopterous insect, Aphalara caltha-. 



Polygonum, Dioscorides, is from the Greek /('///.s", many, ;'(W?/, knee, 

 from the numerous nodes, and azu'cnlair, from Latin az'is, bird, because 

 it is used for bird-seed. 



The plant is called Allseed, Armstrong, Beggar-weed, Bird's Knot- 

 grass, Bird's Tongue, Black Strap, Bloodwort, Centinode, Cow-grass, 

 Crab-grass, Crab-weed, Cumberfield, Doorweed, Finzach, Iron, Knot, 

 Pig, Swine's, and Wiregrass, Hogweed, Knotgrass, Knotwort, Mantie, 

 Nine-joints, Ninety-knot, Pig-rush, Pig-weed, Pink-weed, Red Legs, 

 Red weed. Red Robin, Sparrow -tongue. Stone -weed, Swine -carse, 

 Swine's Skir, Tackers-grass, Surface Twitch, Way^ Grass, Wireweed. 



From the difficulty of pulling it up it is called Armstrong; Swine's 

 Grass because, as Coles says, "Swine delight to feed thereon"; and 

 " it is given to swine with good succcsse when they are sicke, and will 

 not eat their meate. Whereupon the country people do call it Swine's 

 Grasse and Swine's Skir", according to Gerarde. It is called Nine- 

 joints because " of its great number of joynts ", according to Coles. 

 By Doctrine of .Signatures it was called Knotgrass from some pro- 

 perty it was supposed to have of stopping the growth of children. So 

 .Shakespeare in MidsJimvicr-Nighf s Dream refers to it as the "hinder- 

 ing Knotgrass", and Beaumont and Fletcher also, in Coxcomb, Act II, 

 Sc. 2: "We want a boy e.xtremely for this function kept under for a 

 year with milk and Knotgrass". 



The seeds are used as bird-seed. The plant is astringent, and has 

 been used in dysentery, haemorrhage, &c 



ESSENTI.M, .Si'KCIFIC CHARACTERS: 



267. Polygonuni avicularc, L. — .Stem procumbent, branched, leaves 



narrow, oblong, flowers in axillary clusters, stipules (ocrea.') fringed. 



