Polygonum.} cxix. POLYGONACE^. (J. D. Hooker.) 25 



the bracts, stamens 2-3, nut 3-quetrous usually much longer than the 

 perianth. Kosnigia, No. 3 Sf 4> Herb. Ind. Or. H.f. Sf T. 



ALPINE HIMALAYA; on wet rocks, alt. 10-16,000 ft., from Sikkim to Kashmir, 

 Wallich, &c. 



Annual, 4-12 in., tufted, flaccid. Leaves distant, nerves obscure ; petiole rarely 

 f'g in. ; stipular segments acute or obtuse, entire or crenate. Perianth very minute, 

 5 ' n in. long, segments obtuse or acute, 2 outer smaller. Stamens very short. Nut 

 very variable in size, ovate-lanceolate, twice or thrice as long as the perianth, pale, 

 coriaceous, angles very prominent, faces concave. Seed loose. 



3. P. filicaule, Wall. Cat. 1694 ; sparingly strigose, stem very slender, 

 leaves petioled ^- in. ovate or ovate-lanceolate obtuse or acute, flowers in 

 axillary and terminal sessile clusters pedicelled, stamens 3-4, nut trigonous 

 slightly longer than the perianth. Meissn. in Wall. PI. As. Rar. iii. 59, 

 and in DC. Prodr. xiv. 1. 127; Sab. in Trans. Linn. Soc. xviii. 104; 



Gar eke 'in Sot. Eeis. Pr. Waldem. 136. P. alpestre, Wall. Cat. 1725. 

 P. microphyllum, JLlotzsch mss. Koenigia nepalensis, Don Prodr. 74. 

 Kcenigia, No. 2 Herb. Ind. Or. H.f, $ T. 



STJBALPINE and ALPINE HIMALAYA ; in woods, &c., alt. 9-16,000 ft., from 

 Sikkim to Kashmir. WESTEEN TIBET ; Ladak, alt. 11-12,000 ft., Stewart. 



Annual, 4-18 in., flaccid, tufted, rather succulent; stein with often a few reflexed 

 hairs below the nodes. Leaves distant, rarely 1 in., soft, most strigose beneath ; 

 stipular lobes glabrous or hairy, acute or obtuse. Perianth 5 ' B in. long, white ; seg- 

 ments rounded, 2 outer smaller. Filaments very short. Nut ellipsoid, pale, coriaceous, 

 angles very prominent, faces concave. Seed loose. Meissner and Babington describe 

 8 stamens. I find only 3-4. P. alpestre, Wall., is the fully developed state ; vars. 

 ccespitosum and extenuatum of Meissner are more Alpine forms. 



Sect. III. AVICULARIA, Meissn. Erect or prostrate herbs, rarely under- 

 shrubs. Leaves small ; stipules tubular hyaline, cleft or torn. Flowers in 

 axillary clusters ; bracts tubular. Perianth 4-5-cleft. Stamens 3-8, very 

 short. Styles 3, minute, free. Nut 3-gonous. Albumen horny, cotyledons 

 incumbent. 



* Root perennial, branches herbaceous (shrubby in 7. P. salicornioides). 

 See also P. plebejum. 



4. P. recumbens, Royle mss. ; Bab. in Trans. Linn. Soc. xviii. 116 ; 

 puberulous or scaberulous, stems long stout woody much-branched grooved 

 prostrate and ascending, leaves i- in. petioled broadly elliptic flat obtuse 

 or acute nerves obscure, stipules ovate-lanceolate tumid with a strong ex- 

 current nerve on each side, pedicels short jointed at the tip, fruiting 

 perianth obvoid 5-partite. Meissn. in DC. Prodr. xiv. 1. 96. 



WESTERN HIMALAYA ; from Kashmir to Kumaon, alt. 4500 -8000 ft., Royle, &c. 



Rootstock stout; branches many, 1-2 ft., as thick as a crow-quill and more, rooting 

 at the base. Leaves close set ; stipules -^ in., lanceolate and acuminate or truncate 

 and lacerate, nerves variable, longer than the pedicels. Nuts T ' g in., long, broadest 

 below the middle, black, shining. 



5. P. cognatum, Meissn. Polyg. Prodr. 91, and in DC. Prodr. xiv. 

 1. 96; glabrous or nearly so, stems short subsimple prostrate and ascending 

 angled, leaves ^ \ in. petioled elliptic obtuse or acute thick nerveless, sti- 

 pules ovate tumid hyaline subentire nerves 2 short included, pedicels 

 crowded short jointed at the tip, fruiting perianth very thick urceolate tube 

 twice as long as the orbicular lobes. P. alpestre, C. A. Meyer Enum. PL 

 Cauc. 157 j Boiss. Fl. Orient, iv. 1037 ; Jaub. Sf Sp. Ic. PL Orient, t. 118. 



