550 



POLYGONACEAE. 



8. Rumex Patientia L. Patience Dock. 

 (Fig. 1306.) 



Rumex Patientia L. Sp. PI. 333. 1753. 



Perennial, glabrous, stem erect, simple or spar- 

 ing!}- branched, grooved, 2-5 tall. Lower leaves 

 ovate-lanceolate, long-petioled, 4 / -i6 / long, the 

 upper oblong-lanceolate or oblong-elliptic, acute or 

 obtusish, the uppermost lanceolate; fruiting panicle 

 dense; racemes erect, somewhat interrupted in 

 fruit; flowers densely whorled; calyx green; pedi- 

 cels slender, 2-4 times as long as the calyx-wings, 

 jointed below the middle; wings orbicular-cordate, 

 2 // -3 // long, one of them bearing a prominent ovoid 

 callosity; achene i> r/ long, light brown, smooth, 

 shining, its faces concave, its angles obscurely 

 margined. 



In waste places, Vermont and Ontario to Wiscon- 

 sin, Pennsylvania and Kansas. Also in the Far West. 

 Naturalized from Europe. May-June. 



Rumex Britannica L,. Great Water-Dock. (Fig. 1307.) 



Rumex Britannica L. Sp. PI. 334. 1753. 

 Rumex Hydrolapathum var.? Americanum A. 



Gray. Man. Ed. 2, 377. 1856. 

 R. orbiculatus A. Gray, Man. Ed. 5, 420. 1867. 



Perennial, glabrous, dark green, stem stout, 

 erect, more or less branched, grooved, 3-6 tall. 

 Leaves lanceolate or oblong-lanceolate, the 

 lower i-2 long, long-petioled, the upper 2 / -6 / 

 long, short-petioled; fruiting panicle dense; ra- 

 cemes nearly erect, more or less interrupted; 

 flowers densely whorled; calyx light green; 

 pedicels slender, conspicuously jointed above 

 the base, ^-2 times as long the calyx- wings; 

 wings broadly cordate, 3" long, irregularly den- 

 ticulate, each bearing a large callosity; achene 

 ovoid-oblong, or oblong, 2" long, pointed at 

 both ends, brown, smooth, shining, its faces 

 concave, its angles slightly margined. 



In swamps and wet soil, New Brunswick and 

 Ontario to Minnesota, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, 

 Illinois and Iowa. July-Aug. 



Rumex occidentalis S. Wats. Western Dock. (Fig. 1308.) 



JR. occidentalis S. Wats. Proc. Am. Acad. 12: 253. 1876. 



Perennial, glabrous, stem stout, strict, erect or 

 nearly so, strongly grooved, simple or sparingly 

 branched, 2-3 high. Leave.3 lanceolate or ovate- 

 lanceolate, bluish-green, somewhat crisped and 

 wavy-margined, papillose, the lower 8 / -i2 / long,, 

 obtuse or subacute at the apex, more or less cordate 

 at the base, long-petioled, the upper smaller and 

 usually lanceolate; panicle rather dense, leafless or 

 nearly so, erect; racemes usually not interrupted; 

 flowers loosely whorled; calyx pale green, \" long; 

 pedicels obscurely jointed below the middle, 2-3 

 times longer than the calyx-wings; wings triangu- 

 lar-ovate, 2^ // ~4 // long, somewhat dentate or un- 

 dulate, bearing no tubercles; achene oblong, 2"- 

 2^ // long, short-pointed, chestnut-brown, smooth, 

 shining. 



In wet places, Labrador to Alaska, Ontario, Rocky 

 Mountains to Texas, and to California. May-Aug. 



10. 



