KNOTGRASS 233 



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

 phrodite and homogamous, 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, Syritta pipiens, Alelithreptus. It has cleistogamic 

 flowers under the ochres, as well as subterranean cleistogamic flowers. 



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

 partly aid in its dispersal by the wind. 



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



This plant is attacked by 2 rusts, Uromyces polygoni, Ustilago 

 utriculosa, in the flowers, and galled by Asychna czratella. Several 

 beetles frequent it Gastroidea polygoni, Spercheus emarginatus, Apion 

 difforme, Gastropkysa polygoni; 3 moths, Brown Russet (Rnssina tene- 

 brosa), Blood-vein (Bradyepetes amataria], and Asychna czratella\ and 

 a Homopterous insect, Apkalara calthce. 



Polygonum, Dioscorides, is from the Greek polus, many, gonu, knee, 

 from the numerous nodes, and aviculare, from Latin avis, 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 successe 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 Midsummer-Nigh? 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 extremely 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. 



ESSENTIAL SPECIFIC CHARACTERS: 



267. Polygonum aviculare, L. Stem procumbent, branched, leaves 

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



