OCTAND. TRIGYN. 121 



From 4 to 8 inches high, slender. Spike linear ; lower purl, of it 

 generally with little viviparous bulbs of a fine red eolour. Stnm. 8. 

 Styles 3. Perianth pule flesh-coloured, almost white. This species 

 increases much by the bulbs, and little if at all by seed, the trique- 

 trous germen proving abortive. 



ft Flowers spiked, te nninal or axillary. Nuts ovate. (Persicaria.) 



3. P. amphibium (amphibious Persicaria), flowers pentandrous, 

 styles forked, spike oblongo-ovate, leaves petiolate eordato- 

 lanceolate rough at the margins. Lig/i/f. p. 207. E. B. I. 436. 



ct. aquaticum, leaves floating broadly lanceolate glabrous, spikes 



oblong. 

 j3. terrestre, nearly erect, leaves narrow lanecolate rough with 



short rigid ftp pressed hairs on both sides, spikes ovate. 

 HAB. Ponds, lakes, and ditches, or their margins, frequent. Fl. July, 



Aug. 11. 

 Stem 2 3 feet long, scarcely branched when growing in the water. 



Leaves arising from long tubular sheaths or stipules, glabrous in p., 



but hispid in en. Spikes mostly solitary, terminal, bright rose colour. 



The -only perennial species of the Persicaria family. 



4. P. Persicaria (spotted Persicaria), flowers hexandrous, styles 

 forked, leaves lanceolate (often spotted), spikes oblong erect 

 their peduncle smooth, stipules fringed. Lighlf.p. 207. E.JB. 

 f.756. 



HAB. Moist ground and waste places, frequent. Fl. Aug. Q . 



Stem erect, branched, 1 foot to 2 feet high. Spikes terminal and la- 

 teral, dense, greenish, the tips of the flowers rose-coloured. Leaves 

 nearly sessile, glabrous ; but there are said to be vars. with hoary 

 leaves. 



5. P. Lapathifolium (pale -flowered Persicaria}, flowers hexan- 

 drous with 2 distinct styles, leaves ova to-lanceolate shortly pe- 

 tiolate, spikes oblong erect their peduncle rough, stipules not 

 fringed. E. B. t. 1382. 



HAB. Fields and dunghills, frequent. Fl. Aug. O 

 One foot or 1 foot and a half high. A very variable species $ but the 

 above characters, so ably pointed out by Mr. Curtis, are very con- 

 stant. Sometimes the stem is spotted, and sometimes the under- 

 side of the leaf is hoary. The flowers are either a pale green, almost 

 white, or of a reddish tint. Spikes dense, terminal and lateral. 



6. P. Hydropiper (biting Persicaria}, flowers hexandrous, styles 

 forked, leaves lanceolate waved and spotless, spikes lax filiform 

 drooping, stem erect. Light f. p. 207. E. B. t. 9S9. 



HAB. By the sides of ditches and lakes. Fl. Aug. Sept. Q . 



One foot to 3 feet high, erect. Remarkable for its slender, long, more 



or less drooping spikes of distant reddish flowers ; they are lateral 



and terminal. 



7. P. minus (small creeping Persicaria}, flowers hexandrous, 

 style undivided, leaves linear- lanceolate plane very shortly pe- 



