RUMEX.] POLYGONACEjE. 349 



Sub-sp. R. palus'tris, Sm. ; whorls laxer usually distinct fewer-fld., inner 

 fruiting sepals oblong triangular or rhomboid, teeth shorter usually fewer, 

 fruit much larger. R. Sttin'ii 1 Becker. 



** Inner fruiting sepals quite entire or minutely toothed. 

 t One or all the inner sepals with a prominent tubercle on the midrib. 



5. R. cris'pus, L. ; leaves lanceolate or oblong-lanceolate subacute 

 much waved and crisped, panicle leafy below, inner fruiting sepals oblong- 

 ovate or cordate obtuse subentire, upper with a broad smooth tubercle. 



Waste places, N. to Shetland ; ascends to 2,000 ft. in Northumbd. ; Ireland ; 

 Channel Islands ; fl. June-Oct.— Perennial, glabrous or puberulous. Stem 

 1-3 ft., branched. Leaves 6-10 in., base obtuse rounded or acute ; petiole 

 moderate. Panicle with erect branches ; whorls crowded ; pedicels jointed 

 at the base, twice as long as the fruiting sepal or shorter. Fruiting sepals 

 §-J in., green or reddish, reticulate ; inner entire or crenulate ; tubercle 

 small, smooth. Fruit brown, — Distrib. Europe, N. Africa, temp. Asia; 

 introd. in N. America. 



Var. trigranula'ta, Syme, has the panicle very dense, branches short 

 appressed, inner fruiting sepals all tubercled. Orkney, Annan, Fife. — Var. 

 sabcorda'ta, "Warren, has a lax panicle, and inner fruiting sepals larger and 

 more triangular. Lewes. 



R. elonga'tus, Guss., is a var. with flat leaves and laxer panicles from wet 

 places by the Thames and Wye ; it attains 6 ft. 



6. R. sanguineus, L. ; leaves oblong-lanceolate fiddle-shaped sparingly 

 waved, base of panicle leafy, inner fruiting sepals oblong obtuse base 

 rounded entire, upper (or all) with a large smooth tubercle. 



Roadsides and hedges from Isla and Elgin southd. ; ascends to 1,200 ft. 

 in York; Ireland; Channel Islands; fl. July-Aug.— Perennial, glabrous. 

 Stem 1-4 ft., slender, simple or sparingly branched. Leaves 6-10 in., base 

 usually cordate, nerves red or green (R. vir'idis, Sibth. ; R. nemoro'sus, 

 Schrad.) ; petiole shorter. Panicle lax, usually leafless ; whorls distant, 

 many-fld. ; pedicels usually equalling the fruiting sepals, rarely twice as 

 long, jointed at the base. Fruiting sepals oblong or oblong-lanceolate ; 

 tubercle on the outer larger, subglobose, on the others small or 0. Fruit 

 brown, shining. — Distrib. Europe, W» Asia ; introd. in N. America. 



7. R. conglomera'tus, Murray ; leaves oblong-lanceolate base rounded 

 or cordate, panicle leafy almost to the top, inner fruiting sepals linear- 

 oblong subacute rounded at the base quite entire, all with oblong tubercles. 

 R. acu'tus, Sm. and L. Herb. 



Wet meadows and waste places, from Skye and Aberdeen southd. ; Ireland ; 

 Channel Islands ; fl. June-Oct. — Closely allied to R. sanguineus, differing in 

 the leaves never contracted above the base, pedicels jointed below the 

 middle, longer tubercles, and in the characters given above. — Distrib. 

 Europe, N. Africa, W. Asia ; introd. in N. America. 



R. r rupes'tris, Le Gall, is a more upright var. with panicle tapering, root- 

 leaves narrower, bracts few and narrow, fruiting sepals larger more obtuse , 

 — Sea coasts, Sussex to Cornwall : Channel Islands. 



