I. Polygonum.] 111. POLYGONACE^. 



of this. Sir J. D. Hooker says : " The nearly or quite glabrous stems 

 and peduncles, the long bearded stipules, long weak slender but erect 

 racemes, and shorter weaker cilia of the bracts, best distinguish this 

 from P. stagninum ; but none of these characters holds good by itself." 

 The slender racemes are 2-4" long and leaves 4-7". 



Purneah, Burkilll Ranchi, Clarke \ Hazariba^h, Clarke I Manbhum, Wood I 

 Palamau, Cal. Herb. ! Banks of Soane, abundant, J.D.H. ! Fl. Oct. 



L. sessile, linear-lanceolate, tapering- both ends, strigose on nerves beneath and 

 on margins, sessile or subsessile. Excurrent seta; of stipules longer than the tube. 

 Kacemes panicled, narrow, with glabrous setose-margined bracts. 



10. P. stagninum, Ham. 



Erect or ascending 2-3 ft. high with branches above the stipules 

 (by which they are closely sheathed) glabrous or with a few stiff hairs 

 in the loAver parts, upper parts and peduncles densely strigose. Leaves 

 lanceolate thinly shortly appressed hairy both sides and ciliate, base 

 tapering into a very strigose petiole -l-'S" long. Stipules mem- 

 branous -6" strigose and nerves excurrent into long bristles •3-"5'' 

 long. Peduncles strigose, short. Racemes '6-1" with usually 

 coloured pectinately ciliate bracts, mouth rounded. Perianth cam- 

 panulate -1" long, white. Tepals rounded. Stamens 8 (always ?), 

 disc-glands prominent oblong, connate at base. Styles 3 slender, 

 longer than ovary, connate at base. Nut 3-quetrous with subacute 

 angles, pitchy-black {F.B.I.) or brown-black. 



Watery places. Purneah ! Fl., Fr. Nov.-Jan. 



Var. a. 



Leaves 3-5'5" long, linear or linear-lanceolate, very acuminate, sometimes nearly 

 glabrescent, more sparsely and more shortly hairy. Bristles of stipules sometimes 

 as long as tube. Racemes '7-2" long. Perianth green, greenish- white or tinged 

 pink. Pedicels '07". Nut •07", obtusely or sub-acutely 3-gonous, brown-black. 



The commoner form. Frequent throughout Chota Nagpur ! Santal Parg, Kurz ! 

 Cuttack, Cal. Herh. ! 



This is probably only a variety of P. harhatum, differing in the strigose peduncles. 

 The variety also comes very close to P. serrulatum, which is yet more glabrous 

 and more slender. 



II. P. flaccidum, Meissn. 



Resembling P. hydropiper in general appearance, usually larger, 

 2-3 ft. high with red stems and branches very thinly strigose or 

 glabrous and with gland dots, much swollen at the nodes. Leaves 

 lanceolate, reaching 4-5"' by 1" usually 2-3", dotted, somewhat 

 fulvous-strigose beneath and on the midrib above, sometimes also 

 with a few short appressed hairs above. Stipules strigose and bristle- 

 ciliate with the cilia long and often half as long as the tube. Flowers 

 bright pink or white with green base in very lax, very slender, panicled 

 inclined or decurved racemes 3-6" long. Flowers only 2-3 to a bract, 

 bracts often "To-l" apart in the lower parts of the raceme, tubular, 

 obliquely truncate, glabrous, ciliate, cilia mostly long. Nut 3-quetrou8, 

 ovoid. 



Similar localities to the last. Purneah, PwrHZn Ranchi! Palamau! Singbhum, 

 common! Fl., Fr. Sept. -Jan. 



Rootstock creeping. Leaves tapering at base and with a short petiole, petiole of 

 lower leaves "3", sec. n. numerous, distinct beneath. Fls. '1". Perianth glandular, 



778 



