PERSICARIA FAMILY 42 1 



1. R. conglomerdtus (Sharp Dock). — A smooth, slender plant, 

 I — 3 feet high, with few spreading branches ; leaves oblong- 

 lanceolate, not narrowing above the base, cordate or rounded at 

 the base, acute ; flowers in a panicle of distant whorls, leafy almost 

 to the top, inner perianth-segments linear-oblong, sub-acute, each 

 bearing a large oblong wart. — Wet places ; common. — Fl. June — 

 August. Perennial. 



2. R. rupestris (Shore Dock). — A nearly allied form, with a 

 more compact, upright habit ; leaves strap-shaped, rounded and 

 narrowed at both ends ; panicle tapering, whorls not very distant ; 

 inner perianth-segments large, narrow^, oblong, blunt, with large 

 warts. — On the south coast ; rare. — Fl. June — August. Perennial. 



3. R. sanguineus (Bloody-veined Dock). — A smooth species 

 with a slender stem^ i — 4 feet high, with few ascending branches ; 

 leaves ovate-lanceolate, fiddle-shaped, slightly w^avy, usually 

 cordate and with the veins tinged of a beautiful crimson ; flowers 

 in many-flowered, distant whorls forming a loose panicle, only 

 leafy at the base ; inner perianth-segments oblong, blunt, with a 

 large, smooth wart on the outermost. — Roadsides and hedges ; 

 common. The form with green veins is the more frequent. — Fl. 

 June — August. Perennial. 



4. R. maritimus (Golden Dock). — A slightly downy, yellow- 

 green plant, I — 2 feet high, with ascending branches ; leaves short- 

 stalked, linear-lanceolate, narrowed at both ends, slightly wavy; 

 flowers in crowded, confluent, many-flowered whorls, in a leafy 

 panicle with spreading branches ; inner perianth-segments tri- 

 angular, acuminate, orange-yellow, with 2 bristly teeth, often 

 longer than the segment, on each side, and each with a prominent, 

 narrow^, oblong wart. — Marshes, principally near the sea ; rare.-^ 

 Fl. July, August. Biennial. 



5. R. limosus (Yellow Marsh Dock). — A closely allied species, 

 with the whorls distinct, looser, and fewer-flowered ; the inner 

 perianth- segments ovate-oblong, with shorter, bristly teeth ; and the 

 nut much larger. — Marshes ; less common than R. maritimus. — 

 Fl. July — September. Perennial. 



6. R, pulcher (Fiddle Dock). — A small,' nearly smooth, 

 straggling, branched plant ; lower leaves fiddle-shaped or oblong, 

 with a heart-shaped base and narrowed above, with slender 

 petioles ; upper leaves lanceolate, acute ; flowers in distant 

 whorls forming a spreading, leafy panicle ; inner perianth-segments 

 pale-coloured, oblong, deeply toothed along the lower halves of 

 their edges, with a network of veins, and on one of them a more 

 prominent, oblong, prickly wart. — Waste places on dry soil; not 

 uncommon. — Fl. June — October. Biennial or perennial. 



