552 



POLYGOXACEAE. 



14. Rumex pulcher L. Fiddle Dock. (Fig. 1312.) 

 Ritmex pulcher L. Sp. PI. 336. 1753. 



Perennial, dark green; stem slender, erect or procum- 

 bent, grooved, diffusely branched, i-3 long, the 

 branches spreading. Leaves obloug, or some of the 

 lower fiddle-shaped, i'-6' long, long-petioled, obtuse 

 at the apex, cordate at the base; upper oblong or oblong- 

 lanceolate, i '-3' long, short-petioled, usually nar- 

 rowed at both ends; petioles more or less pubescent; 

 panicle loose; racemes long, divergent, sometimes re- 

 flexed, much interrupted, rather leafy; flowers few in 

 the whorls; calyx very small, green; pedicels equalling 

 the calyx-wings, jointed at or below the middle; wings 

 ovate or oblong-ovate, 2" long, truncate at the base, one 

 larger than the others or all three of different sizes, 

 fringed with spine-like teeth, usually two, sometimes 

 one or all three bearing tubercles; achene i" long, 

 pointed, reddish, smooth, shining, its faces concave. 



In waste places, Virginia to Florida and Louisiana. 

 Also on the Pacific Coast and in ballast about the northern 

 seaports. Naturalized from Europe. June-Sept. 



Broad-leaved or Bitter Dock. (Fig. 1313.) 



L. 



1753- 



u 



15. Rumex obtusifdlius 



Rumex obtusifolius L. Sp. PI. 335. 



Perennial, glabrous, dark green; stem stout, 

 erect, simple or sparingly branched, grooved, 

 more or less scurfy above, 2 -4 tall. Lower 

 leaves oblong-lanceolate, 6 / -i4 / long, long-peti- 

 oled, all cordate or rounded at the base, obtuse or 

 acute at the apex, the upper lanceolate or oblong- 

 lanceolate, 2 / -6 / long, short-petioled, the mar- 

 gins somewhat undulate or crisped; panicle 

 rather open ; racemes nearly erect, continuous or 

 interrupted below; flowers loosely whorled; pedi- 

 cels slender, somewhat longer than the calyx- 

 wings, jointed below the middle; wings hastate, 

 2 // -2} // long, fringed with a few spreading 

 spiny teeth, one of them bearing an oblong 

 tubercle; achene \" long, pointed, dark red, 

 smooth, shining, its faces concave, its angles 

 slightly margined. 



In waste places, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick 

 to Oregon, south to Florida and Texas. Naturalized 

 from Europe. Native also of Asia. June-Aug. 



16. Rumex persicarioides L. 

 Dock. (Fig. 1314.) 



Rumex persicarioides L. Sp. PI. 335. 1753. 



Golden 



Annual, pubescent, pale green; stem rather stout, 

 erect and simple.or diffusely branched, i-3 high, or 

 sometimes spreading or creeping, very leafy. Leaves 

 lanceolate, or oblong, i / -i2 / long, narrowed at the 

 base, or sometimes cordate, or sagittate, acute at the 

 apex, the margins undulate and more or less crisped; 

 panicle simple or compound; racemes erect, leafy- 

 bracted, mostly interrupted; flowers densely 

 whorled; pedicels slender, l-i% times as long as the 

 calyx-wings, jointed at the base; calyx very small; 

 wings oblong, V long, with 1-3 bristles on each mar- 

 gin, each bearing an ovoid or oblong callosity; achene 

 less than i" long, pointed, reddish, smooth, shin- 

 ing, its faces convex, its angles slightly margined. 



On sandj- shores. New Brunswick to Virgin; 

 tending across the continent through British America, 

 south in the interior to Kansas and New Mexico and 

 on the Pacific Coast to California. Has been confounded 

 with R. marit imus L. of the Old World. July-Oct. 



