520 RUMEX. LCLASS VI. ORDER 111. 



Pereunial; flowering iu June and July. 



This is a very common species and a very troublesome weed, diffi- 

 cult of extirpation, from ilie great profusion of seeds which it produces, 

 and from the long roots being with difficulty removed; and if only 

 broken off, especially if near the top, it puts out fresh stems, and in the 

 place of one frequently there are several. 



3. i?. aqua'ticus, Linn. (Fig. 593.) Grainless Water Dock. En- 

 larged pieces of the perianth broadly heart-shaped, membranous, netted 

 with veins, entire, all without tubercles; leaves lanceolate, the lower 

 ones oblong, heart-shaped, the margins waved and curled ; footstalks 

 channeled ; whorls crowded, mostly leafless. 



Hooker in English Botany, Suppl. t. 2698, and British Flora, vol. i. 

 p. 171.— Lindley, Synopsis, Suppl. p. 328. 



Root large, fleshy, with stout downy branches. Stem erect, angled, 

 and furrowed, smooth, about three feet high, green or purplish, alter- 

 nately branched above, and leafy. Leaves lanceolate, on channeled 

 footstalks, somewhat hairy, or smooth, the upper ones lanceolate, 

 narrow, the lower ones oblong-lanceolate, heart-shaped at the base, 

 the margins irregularly crenated and waved, a dark green, paler be- 

 neath, mid-rib stout, with numerous prominent branched reticulated 

 veins. Injlorescence a terminal branched large panicle, the branches 

 simple, or two or three times divided, frequently slightly hairy. 

 Flowers numerous, in crowded whorls, mostly without any accom- 

 panying leaves, the upper whorls crowded, the lower sometimes 

 distant. Perianth of six pieces, the outer ones small, narrow, fleshy, 

 concave, the two inner much enlarged after flowering, thin, almost 

 membranous, roundish, heart-shaped at the base, entire, or with the 

 margin curled or somewhat toothed, all destitute of any tubercle, but 

 with a mid-rib, and from it numerous branched reticulated veins, pro- 

 minent, and frequently tinged with purple. Stamens with slender 

 filaments and rather small oblong anthers. Styles slender, spreading, 

 with much divided stigmas, tufted, persistent on the point of the ovate 

 triangular pale brown nut. 



Habitat. — Watery places, near Ayr, Scotland.— ilfr. Goldie— Hooker. 



Perennial ; flowering in July. 



This species is nearly allied to R. crispus, from which it is distin- 

 guished by its larger more broadly heart shaped persistent pieces of 

 the perianth, all destitute of tubercles ; it has probably been from its 

 near affinity confounded with R. crispus. It is frequent on the Con- 

 tinent, and from Pliny we learn that its roots are moderately digestive. 

 It does not appear ever to have been applied to much use, and is now 

 entirely neglected. It is called in Italy Romice aquatica and Erba 

 Brilannica. 



4. R. alpi'nus, Linn. (Fig. 595.) Alpine Dock, or Monies Rhubarb. 

 Enlarged pieces of the perianth ovate, heart-shaped, membranous, 



