372 POLYGONACE^E. (BUCKWHEAT FAMILY.) 



in their place) ; leaves lanceolate. Alpine summits of the White Mountains, 

 New Hampshire, shore of Lake Superior, ami northward. (En.) 



2. AMBLY6GONON, Mcisn. Calyx )n lal-like, ^-parted: stamens 7 : style 2- 

 cleft: stigmas capitate: achenium lenticular (cotyledons inrimibent, limar: albumen 

 floury) : annuals : flowers crowded in linear-cylindrical tirminal spikes. 



2. P. ORIENTALS, L. (PRINCE'S FEATHER.) Tall, branching, rather 

 hairy ; leaves ovate, pointed, pctiolcd ; upper sheaths salver-form ; spikes nu- 

 merous, nodding; the large bright rose-colored flowers open. Sparingly 

 escaped from cultivation into waste grounds. Aug., Sept. (Adv. from Eu.) 



$3. PERSICAftlA, Tourn. Calyx petal-like, 5-parted : stamens 4-8: styles 

 2-3 or 2-3-cleft: stigmas capitate, often small: achenium lenticular, or (ivhen 

 there are 3 stigmas) 3-sided (cotyledons accumbent, narrow: albumen hard and 

 horny) : roots fibrous : sheaths cylindrical, truncate : flowers crowded in spikes or 

 spike-like racemes. 



* Sheaths naked : styles 2, or 2-deft : achenium flat or lenticular. 

 *- Stamens 5 : spike mostly solitary, very dense : flowers rose-red: root perennial. 



3. P. ampliiMliin, L. (WATER PERSICARIA.) Leaves elliptical- 

 lanceolate or oblong, pointed or obtusish, either narrowed or rather heart-shaped 

 at the base. Var. 1. AQUATICUM, L., is floating or procumbent in soft mud, 

 rooting, and nearly smooth, as well as the long-petioled often obtuse floating 

 leaves. (P. coccineum, Bigcl. P. fluitans, Eaton.) Var. 2. TERRESTRE is 

 more or less hairy or bristly, with an upright or ascending stern, growing in 

 marshy or muddy places ; the leaves acnte or pointed, upper very short-petioled. 

 Ponds or their low borders ; common, especially northward. July, Aug. 

 Very variable in foliage, &c. : spike oblong, l'-3' long, J'-' thick. (Eu.) 



*- - Stamens 6 or 8 : spikes somewhat panicled, oblong or linear, densely flowered: 

 flowers rose or flesh-color : root annual. 



4. P. nocldsiim, Pers., var. incar&lfitllllfi. Stem upright (2 -4 

 high), smooth below, the branches above, peduncles, $~c. roughened with scattered 

 sessile glands ; leaves rough on the midrib and margins, elongated-lanceolate 

 (4'- 10' long, l'-3' wide below), tapering gradually from towards the base to a 

 narrow point; spikes linear, nodding, becoming slender (!-'- 3' long); stamens 

 6; style 2-parted, both included ; achenium with concave sides. (P. incarnatum, 

 Ell. P. lapathifolium, Amer. anth.) Moist places, Michigan to Kentucky, 

 and common southward. Aug. - Sept. Sheaths rather long, perfectly smooth 

 and naked on the margin. This is not P. lapathifolium, but falls under P. no- 

 dosum as the species are lately distinguished by Meisncr : otir plant is appar- 

 ently indigenous, and so different from the European that it should perhaps be 

 admitted as a species under Elliott's name. 



5. P. Pemisylvsiniciuii, L. Stem upright (l-3 high), smooth 

 below, the branHi'-s ttlore, and enprcidtly the pedtniclt-s, beset iri/h bristly-stalked 

 (/Ifiiid:; ; leaves lanceolate, a little rough on the midrib and margins (1^'- 5' long) ; 

 spikes oblonrj, obtuse (!' 2' long), erect, thick; stamens mostly 8, somewhat cxserted; 

 styk 2-cleft ; achenium with flat sides. Moist soil, in open waste phu-e; ; com- 

 mon. July -Oct. 



