312 POLYGONS^. [RcMKX. 



Sub-sp. PALUS'TRIS, Sm. (sp.); whorls laxer usually distinct fewer-flowered, 

 inner fruit-bearing sepals oblong-triangular or rhomboid, teeth shorter 

 usually fewer. 



** Inner sepals quite entire or minutely toothed. 

 + One or all ike inner sepals with a prominent tubercle on the midrHi. 



5. R. crispus, L. ; leaves lanceolate or oblong-lanceolate subacute 

 much waved and crisped, panicle leafy below, inner fruiting sepals broadly 

 ovate or cordate obtuse subentire, upper with a broad smooth tubercle. 

 Roadsides and waste places ; ascends to near 2,000 ft. in Northumberland ; fl. 



June-Oct. Perennial, glabrous or puberulous. Stem 1-3 ft., branched. 

 Leaves 6-10 in., obtuse rounded or acute at the base; petiole moderate. 

 Panicle with erect branches ; whorls crowded ; pedicels jointed at the 

 base, twice as long as the fruiting sepals or shorter. Fruiting se2)uls -J in., 

 green or reddish, reticulate ; inner entire or crenulate ; tubercle small, 

 smooth. Fruit brown. DISTRIB. Europe, N. Africa, temp. Asia to Japan ; 

 introd. in N. America. 



6. R. sanpruin'eus, L. ; leaves oblong-lanceolate fiddle-shaped sparingly 

 waved, panicle leafy at the base, inner fruiting sepals oblong obtuse 

 rounded at the base entire, upper with a large smooth tubercle. 

 Roadsides and hedges from Isla and Elgin southwards ; ascending to 1,200 ft. 



in Yorkshire ; fl. July- Aug. Perennial, glabrous. Stem 1-4 ft., slender, 

 simple or sparingly branched. Leaves 6-10 in., usually cordate at the base 

 and contracted above it, margin slightly waved ; petiole shorter. 1'un <</>' 

 lax, usually leafless ; whorls distant, many-flowered ; pedicels usually equal- 

 ling the fruiting sepals, rarely twice as long, jointed at the base. F >'<>', - : i 

 sepals oblong or oblong-lanceolate ; tubercle on the outer larger, sub- 

 globose, on the others small or 0. Fruit brown, shining. DISTRIB. Europe, 

 W. Asia ; introd. in N. America. 



VAR. 1, mnguin'eus proper ; stem and veins of leaves blood-red. Rare, often 

 naturalized. VAR. 2, vir'idis, Sibth. (sp.); stem and veins of leaves green 

 or red in autumn only. R. nemorosits, Schrader. 



7. R. conglom'eratus, Murray ; leaves oblong-lanceolate rounded or 

 cordate at the base, panicle leafy almost to the top, inner fruiting sepals 

 linear-oblong subacute rounded at the base quite entire, all with oblong 

 tubercles. R. acutus, Sm. and L. Herb. 



Wet meadows and waste places ; fl. June-Oct. Closely allied to R. ta-Mjuii" "., 

 differing in the leaves never contracted above the base, pedicels jointed 

 below the middle, longer tubercles, and in the characters given above. 

 DISTRIB. Europe, N. Africa, W. Asia, introd. in N. America. 



8. R. Hydrolap'athum, H uds, ; leaves broadly oblong-lanceolate, panicle 

 almost leafless, inner fruiting sepals deltoid-ovate acute or obtuse quite 

 entire or faintly toothed, all with oblong tubercles. 



Ditches and river-sides from Isla southwards ; common in England, rare in 

 Scotland and Ireland; fl. July- Aug. Perennial, glabrous, titem 3-6 ft,, 

 erect, branched. Leaves 1-2 ft., acute, rounded cordate or acute at the 

 base, margins flat crenulate ; petiole 6-10 in., flat above, not winged. 

 Panicle very large ; whorls rather crowded ; fruiting pedicels as long or 

 twice as long as the sepals, jointed towards the base. Fruiting sepals 

 J-4 in., reticulate, truncate or cuneate at the base. Fruit pale chesnut. 

 DISTRIB. Europe. The largest British species. Root astringent. 



