POLYGONACEAE 371 



whorls usually separated, except towards the ends of the branches : pedicels rather stout, 

 somewhat longer than the peduncles : sepal-wings triangular, 2.5-3.5 mm. long, erose or 

 somewhat toothed, acute, strongly nerved, about as long as the pedicels and peduncles, 

 each bearing a narrowly-oblong callosity : achenes ovoid, 2.5 mm. long, the angles mar- 

 gined. 



In valleys, Texas to Arizona and Mexico. Summer. 



12. Rumex conglomeratus Murray. Perennial, pale green. Stem 3-9 dm. long, 

 erect, simple or branched : leaf -blades ovate, oblong or lanceolate, 2.5-13 cm. long, some 

 slightly fiddle-shaped, acute, crenulate and slightly crisped, obtuse at the base : panicle 

 loose and open even in fruit, the branches with leafy bracts, slender, ascending, the loose 

 whorls much separated : pedicels much longer than the peduncles : sepal-wings oblong, 

 fiddle-shaped, 3 mm. long, dentate near the base, as long as the pedicels or slightly longer, 

 each bearing a large oblong callosity : achenes ovoid, nearly 2 mm. long, pointed. 



In waste places, Virginia to South Carolina. Also in California. Naturalized from Europe. Spring 

 and summer. 



13. Rumex sanguineus L. Perennial, glabrous. Stem 3-9 dm. long, erect, simple 

 or branched : leaf-blades oblong, oblong-lanceolate or lanceolate, 2.5-16 cm. long, the 

 lower ones long-petioled, acute or obtuse at the apex, cordate at the base, the upper ones 

 short-petioled, acute at the apex, obtuse at the base, all usually with red veins : panicle 

 loose, the branches slender, spreading, without leafy bracts, the lax whorls separated : 

 pedicels slender : sepal-wings oblong, 3 mm. long, as long as the pedicels or somewhat 

 shorter, only one bearing a spherical-oblong callosity : achenes broadly ovoid, nearly 2 

 mm. long, sharp-pointed. 



In waste places, New York to Virginia and Louisiana. Naturalized from Europe. Spring and 

 summer. 



14. Rumex pulcher L. Perennial, deep green. Stem 3-9 dm. long, erect or pro- 

 cumbent, rather diffusely branched : lower leaves with oblong, often fiddle-shaped, long- 

 petioled blades 2.5-15 cm. long, obtuse at the apex, cordate at the base, the upper ones 

 oblong or oblong-lanceolate, 2.5-8 cm. long, short-petioled, acutish, the uppermost acumi- 

 nate at the base : petioles more or less pubescent : panicle loose, the branches spreading, 

 without leafy bracts, the few-flowered whorls much separated : pedicels and peduncles 

 about equal in length : sepal-wings ovate or oblong-ovate, 4 mm. long, truncate at the base, 

 about as long as the pedicels and peduncles, one larger than the rest or all three of different 

 sizes, armed with 5-10 spine-like teeth, 2 of the wings bearing callosities : achenes pyram- 

 idal-ovoid, 2 mm. long, pointed. 



In dry ground along the coast from Virginia to Florida and Louisiana. Also on the Pacific slope 

 and on ba'llast at various ports. Naturalized from Europe. Summer. 



15. Rumex obtusifolius L. Perennial, dark green. Stem 6-12 dm. tall, erect, 

 simple or sparingly branched, more or less scurfy above : lower leaves with oblong-lanceo- 

 late long-petioled blades 1.5-4 dm. long, the upper ones lanceolate or oblong-lanceolate, 

 5-15 cm. long, short-petioled, all cordate or obtuse at the base, obtuse or acute at the apex, 

 more or less eroded and crisped : panicle rather open, the branches nearly erect, with 

 contiguous or partially separated loose whorls : pedicels slender, somewhat longer than the 

 peduncles : sepal -wings hastate, 4-5 mm. long, fringed with 3-5 spreading spine-like teeth, 

 somewhat shorter than the pedicels and peduncles, only one bearing an oblong callosity : 

 achenes ovoid, 2 mm. long, pointed, the angles slightly margined. 



In waste places, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick to Oregon, Florida and Texas. Naturalized from 

 Europe. Also a native of Asia. Summer. 



16. Rumex persicarioides L. Annual, pubescent, pale green. Stem 3-9 dm. long, 

 simple, erect, or diffusely branched, spreading and creeping, leafy : leaf-blades lanceolate, 

 oblong, 2.5-30 cm. long, usually abruptly narrowed at the base, acute at the apex, undu- 

 late, more or less crisped : panicle simple or compound, open, or dense at maturity, the 

 branches erect, leafy-bracted, the very dense whorls mostly separated : pedicels slender, 

 abruptly enlarged at the calyx, much longer than the peduncles : sepal-wings oblong, 2 

 mm. long, as long as the pedicels or slightly shorter, with 1-3 awn-like bristles on each 

 side, each bearing an ovoid callosity : achenes oblong-ovoid, 1-2 mm. long, pointed, 

 the angles slightly margined. 



On sandy shores, New Brunswick to British Columbia, North Carolina, Kansas, New Mexico and 

 California. Summer and fall. 



17. Rumex bucephaldphorus L. Annual, glabrous, glaucescent. Stems usually 

 branched at the base, the branches spreading, 1-2 dm. long, often conspicuously jointed : 

 leaf-blades spatulate or oblanceolate, the upper ones sometimes lanceolate, 1-4 cm. long, 

 acute or obtuse, entire, petioled : panicle terminal, simple, 1 dm. long, or shorter, con- 

 tinuous, or at length interrupted : flowers several in a whorl : pedicels gradually di- 



