GENUS 3. 



BUCKWHEAT FAMILY. 



5. Rumex pallidus Bigel. Large-tubercled 

 Dock. Fig. 1 60 1. 



Rumex pallidus Bigel. Fl. Bost. Ed. 3, 153. 1840. 



Perennial, glabrous, somewhat glaucous ; stem de- 

 pressed or ascending, often zigzag, i-2j long. 

 Leaves oblong to narrowly lanceolate or almost 

 linear, acute or acuminate at both ends, petioled, 

 rather fleshy ; racemes, at least the lower ones, 

 spreading or reflexed, very dense; calyx pale; pedi- 

 cels shorter than the wings, jointed below the mid- 

 dle; wings deltoid or ovate-deltoid, iJ"-2" long, 

 undulate, each bearing a large broadly ovoid tuber- 

 cle ; achene i"-i$" long, red, its angles narrowly 

 margined. 



On beaches, rocks and in salt marshes along the coast, 

 Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and New England. June- 

 Sept. 



6. Rumex mexicanus Meisn. White, Pale or 

 Willow-leaved Dock. Fig. 1602. 



R. salicifolius Hook. Fl. Bor. Am. 2: 129. 1840. Not 



Weinm. 1821. 

 R. mexicanus Meisn. in DC. Prodr. 14: 45. 1856. 



Perennial, glabrous, pale green; stem erect or as- 

 cending, simple or branched, grooved, flexuous, i-3 

 high. Leaves lanceolate, linear-lanceolate or the 

 lower oblong, acute or acuminate at both ends, or 

 rarely obtuse at the apex, petioled; racemes erect 

 or ascending, dense, in fruit interrupted below ; 

 flowers in dense clusters; calyx pale green, i" long, 

 pedicelled, winged in fruit; pedicels slightly longer 

 than the wings, jointed near the base ; wings trian- 

 gular-ovate, i' long, undulate or subdentate, each 

 bearing a narrowly ovoid or oblong tubercle ; 

 achene i" long, dark red, smooth, shining, its faces 

 concave, its angles slightly margined. 



In moist, rich or rocky soil, Labrador and Newfound- 

 land to Maine, British Columbia, Texas and Mexico. 

 Occasionally introduced eastward. May-Sept. 



7. Rumex verticillatus L. Swamp Dock. 

 Fig. 1603. 



Rumex verticillatus L. Sp. PI. 334. 1753. 



Perennial, glabrous, rather bright green ; stem 

 stout, grooved, simple or nearly so, erect, ascend- 

 ing or decumbent, 2-5 long, more or less flexuous 

 when old. Leaves narrowly oblong, oblong-lanceo- 

 late or lanceolate, 2'-ia' long, narrowed at both ends 

 or obtusish at the apex, slightly papillose, long- 

 petioled ; racemes interrupted below, spreading in 

 fruit; flowers in rather dense whorls; calyx green, 

 i" long, winged in fruit; pedicels stout, thickened 

 above, jointed near the base, 1-5 times as long as the 

 wings; wings broadly deltoid, 2" long, more or less 

 decurrent on the pedicel, each bearing a narrowly 

 ovoid tubercle; achene il" long, reddish, pointed, 

 smooth, shining, its faces concavr. 



In swamps, Quebec and Ontario to Iowa, south to 

 Florida and Texas. May-July. 



