246 POLTGONACEJE. 



its leaves are crumpled, lanceolate-shaped, and pointed. Its 

 pale green flowers hang in numerous drooping clusters. My 

 specimen was gathered on the banks of the Swale, close to a 

 low part of the road called " Standing Waits." I suppose 

 because the frequent floods often made the way impassable, 

 and the traveller must stand and wait. 



The Broad-leaved Dock (R. obtusifolius), is equally common, 

 growing in waste ground in the same and other neighbourhoods. 

 It is distinguished by its blunt leaves. 



There are two species of this family which bear the name of 

 Sorrel ; they differ from the others in having the stamens and 

 stigmas in different flowers, and in having a strongly acid prin- 

 ciple in their leaves. When cooked, or mixed with salad, these 

 plants are wholesome ; but as they contain a small portion of 

 what is called " salts of lemon, or oxalic acid," a large quantity 

 of them would be actually poisonous. 



The common Sorrel (R. acetosa), with its crimson-tinted 

 leaves and crimson seed, is a familiar object in every meadow ; 

 its leaves are arrow-shaped. Cooked as Spinach it makes a 

 delicious dish. 



The Sheep's Sorrel (R. acetosella), is common in high pas- 

 tures ; it forms crimson plots on the Richmond race-course, 

 and on the Swaledale moors. Its leaves are less clearly arrow- 

 shaped, but partake of that form. 



The Great Water Dock (R. hydrolapathum), is the hand- 

 somest of the set ; it grows five feet high, and its huge lance- 

 shaped leaves are slightly glaucous and very much waved ; 

 and the crowded whorls are nearly leafless. I found it by 

 the Avon, near Guy's Cliff, just opposite the floating Persicaria. 

 The Yellow Marsh Dock (R. paliistris), with its interrupted 

 cluster, I found in the same neighbourhood; and the Sharp 

 Dock I found near Hawkhurst. This is a comparatively slender 

 plant, with small seeds, and elongated heart-shaped leaves. 



The Bloody-veined Dock (R. sangiiineus), grows also in those 

 Kentish lanes. 



