Polygonum. POLYGONACE.E. -i, 



stamens 8 : styles as long as the ovary : akenc smooth ami shinin- 2 lines lonu or 

 ,„ore. — Lmna'a, lu. 51 ; Meisner, ]JC. Prodr. xiv. 8!). 



Siiing'ancf^nlli."' '""^'^' ^"•'' ''•"'" ^=^" ^■•'"'^^'^^° t° I'"««t So.uul, often i.. la,-go tufts. 



2. P. Shastense, Jkewer. Prostrate or ascending, branc.hing, the woody 

 branches halt a toot long or less, nearly naked below: sheaths with an herbaceous 

 base, a line long and cjuallmg the joint, the 2-lobe(l and scario.is summit scarcely 

 acerate and usually deciduous by a regular tnmsverse division: leaves oblanceo- 

 Jate, 4 to G lines long, acute, often folded, margin not revolute : flowers 1 to 3 in 

 each of the lower axils of the leafy branches, rose-colored with a darker midvein or 

 nearly white, 1^ to 2.^ lines long, attenuate to a slightly exserted naked pediJel • 

 sepals round-obovate : stamens 8 : styles much shorter tiian tlie ovarv, persistent • 

 akcne smootii and shining, 2^ lines long. — Gray, Proc. Am. Acad. viii. 400- 

 Watson, Am. Naturalist, vii. 0G4. 



In the Sien-a Nevada, at 8,000 to 10,000 feet altitude, from Silver Mountdn to Mt Shasta 

 ■fircr, lorrn/, Lcmmon. Ancjust and September. ' 



Bn 



3. P. Bolanderi, Ihcwer. Stems numerous, erect from a woody base, G to 15 

 inclies high, slender, simple with short very leafy erect branchlets towards the top : 

 sheaths with an herbaceous base (a line long or less, niany times shorter than the 

 node), scarious and finely lacerate above, persistent : leaves narrowly linear to sub- 

 ulate, acute or cuspidate, 2 or 3 lines long, not revolute : flowers solitary in the 

 axils on the branchlets, involucrate with a slieath-like scarious bract on the joint of 

 the short pedicel, light rose-color, 1^ lines long; sepals oblong-ovate, slightly spread- 

 ing : stamens 8 or 9 : styles half as long as the ovary. — Gray, 1. c. ; Watson, 1. c. 



Oil dry roeky liillsides oast of Napa Valley [Brnccr, IMamicr) and in the "Valley of the Sac- 

 ramento," Pickering. Kemarkable lor the lloral sheath.s. 



* * Annuals, with striate stems : flowers In the nxlls of leaves or hi loose vlr- 

 gate sjukes ; sej}als herbaceous or colored onli/ on the marr/ln, close-appressed 

 to the akene. 



•»- Branches leafy to the summit : sheaths shoH and mostly scarious, at length 



lacerate. 



4. P, erectum, Linn. Eather stout, erect or ascending, branching from the 

 base, a foot or two high or more, glabrous, usually tinged with yellow, the branches 

 very leafy throughout : leaves oblong or oval, i to 2 1 inches long, obtuse or acut- 

 ish : flowers mostly l^ lines long, usually somewhat drooping ujion the more or less 

 exserted pedicel, often yellowisli : sepals and stamens 5, rarely 6 : akene very 

 broadly ovate to lanceolate, 1 or 2 lines long, dull and granular to nearly smooth 

 and shining. — Watson, 1. c. 



A vciy common ca.stern species, collected in Nevada ( Watson) and Oregon, and doubtless to be 

 found in California, at least as an introduced weed. 



5. P. aviculare, Linn. A similar species, mostly prosti-ato with slender elon- 

 gated branches, bluish-green : leaves narrower, oblong to Lmceolate, acute or acut- 

 isli : flowers smaller, usually leas than a lino long, tinged with white or ro.se-color, 

 on included pedicels : akene broadly ovate, a lino long or less, dull and minutely 

 granular. 



A European species very widely naturalized, growing about yards and roadsides ; apparently 

 not yet common in California. 



6. P, minimum, Watson. Very low and slender, ascending, rarely 6 inches 

 liigh, usually more or less scabrous-puberulent : stems nearly terete, reddish : leaves 

 ovate to oblong, sometimes all narrowly lanceolate, half an inch long or less, acute 

 or apiculate : flowers in all the axils, usually small, a line long or less^ erect on 



