A GUIDE TO THE WILD FLOWERS loi 



292. PiNWEED. Lcchca minor. A stiff little herb, 6-20 in. 

 high, more or less soft-hairy throughout. Stem leaves oval 

 or oblong, almost stalkless, usually pointed both ends, and 

 hairy on the margins. Basal leaves much more crowded, 

 y4-y2 in. long, and half as wide. Flower clusters decidedly 

 leafy, never showy. In dry thickets or open places from On- 

 tario and Mass. to Florida, west to Michigan. August. A re- 

 lated plant growing on the sands of the seashore or near 

 them is Lechca maritima. It has a larger flower cluster and 

 narrower stem leaves, and is densely white-hairy. 



Leaves of the basal shoots linear, about Vg-Viq as wide as they are 

 long; stem leaves about Y\o in. wide. 



293. PiNWEED. Lechea tenuifolia. A more slender wand-like 

 plant 4-10 in. tall and covered with very short but stiff 

 hairs. Stem leaves narrow, scarcely Yio in. wide, pointed both 

 ends, and rather sparsely arranged. Basal leaves similar, but 

 about half the length, scarcely ys in. long. Flower clusters 

 mostly at the ends of the branchlets, a little one-sided. August. 

 Dry places from New Hampshire to Florida, and westward. 

 Fig. 293. A related species, Lechca intermedia, with broader 

 basal leaves and sparser, more open flower clusters grows 

 usually in rocky places from Nova Scotia to N. Y. and N. J. 

 w,estward to Michigan and Wiscqnsin. See No. 334 for a 

 related plant, the Frostweed. 



294. BUCKWHEAT FAMILY. POLYGONACEAE. 



A large family of plants, which are shrubs or trees in the 

 tropics, but in our species are herbs (or vines, see Nos. 

 204, 205). All those included below have alternate leaves 

 wiithout teeth and a tiny sheath which surrounds the stem, 

 at the base of each leaf or leaf-stalk. These sheaths may be 

 green or membranous and smooth or fringed at the top (see 

 Fig. 298). Flowers small, in various kinds of clusters, with 

 no petals but the sepals often colored. Fruit dry often sur- 

 rounded by a small wing. Other plants of this family are 

 Nos. 204, 205, 246, 247, 260, 261, 262, 263, 270 and 961. 

 The nine species below may be distinguished thus : 



