560 



POLYGOXACEAE. 



15. Polygonum hydropiperoides Michx. Mild Water Pepper. (Fig. 1332.) 



P. hydropiperoides Michx. Fl. Bor. Am. i: 239. 1803. 

 Polygonum mite Pers. Syn. i: 440. 1805. 



Perennial, glabrous or strigillose, stem erect, decum- 

 bent or prostrate, simple or branched above, slender, 

 i-3 long. Leaves narrowly lanceolate or oblong- 

 lanceolate, varying to linear-lanceolate, 2 / -6 / long, 

 short-petioled, acute at apex, ciliate, pubescent with 

 appressed hairs on the midrib beneath; ocreae cylin- 

 dric, loose, strigose, fringed with long bristles; racemes 

 panicled, terminal, erect, narrow, more or less inter- 

 rupted, i^ / -3 / long; calyx pink or greenish; stamens 

 S; style 3-parted to below the middle ; achene 3-angled, 

 ovoid or oblong, \"-\%' f long, smooth, shining. 



In swamps and wet soil, New Brunswick to Minnesota 

 and California, south to Florida and Mexico. June-Sept 



Polygonum hydropiperoides Macouni Small, Mem. Dept. 



Bot. Col. Coll. i: Si. 1895. 



More robust than the type, stem i -3 long, clothed with 

 stout appressed hairs; leaves lanceolate, obtuse; ocreo- 

 lae more or less ciliate; calyx white or whitish, often con- 

 spicuous. Quebec to West Virginia and Indiana. Also- 

 in. California. 



Water Pepper. ( Fig. 1333.) 



16. Polygonum Hydropiper L. Smart-weed. 



Polygonum Hydropiper L. Sp. PI. 361. 1753. 



Annual, glabrous, stem erect, simple or branched, 

 red or reddish, sometimes green, S / -24 / tall. 

 Leaves lanceolate or oblong-lanceolate, i'-^/ long, 

 short-petioled, acute or acuminate at the apex, un- 

 dulate or slightly crisped, punctate, ciliate, very 

 acrid, ocreae cylindric, fringed with short bristles, 

 sometimes slightly pubescent, usually swollen at 

 the base by the development of several flowers 

 within; racemes panicled, i f -$' long, narrow, 

 drooping, interrupted; calyx green, 3-5-parted 

 (usually 4-parted) conspicuously punctate; stamens 

 4 or sometimes 6; style short, 2-3-parted; achene 

 lenticular or 3-angled, broadly oblong or ovoid, 

 slightly gibbous, i% /f -i% ff long, granular, dull. 



In moist waste places, almost throughout North 

 America. Naturalized from Europe in our area, per- 

 haps indigenous in the far Northwest. July-Sept. 



17. Polygonum punctatum Ell. Dotted 

 or Water Smart- weed. (Fig. 1334.) 



P. punctatum Ell. Bot. S. C. & Ga. i: 455. 1*17. 

 P. acre H.B.K. Nov. Gen. 2: 179. 1817. Not Lam. 



Annual or perennial, glabrous or very nearly so, 

 stem erect or ascending, rarely prostrate, simple or 

 branched, i-3 long. Leaves lanceolate or ob- 

 long-lanceolate, I'-S' long, acuminate at both ends, 

 petioled, ciliate, conspicuously punctate, acrid, the 

 midrib often with a few scattered hairs: ocreae cy- 

 lindric; falling away at maturity; fringed with long 

 bristles; racemes terminal, narrow, erect or slightly 

 drooping; loosely flowered, %'-$' long; calyx 

 greenish; stamens 8; style 2-3-parted to the base 

 achene oblong, short, thick, lenticular or 3-angled 

 iX" long, smooth, shining. 



In swamps and wet places, throughout North Amer- 

 ica except the extreme north. June-Oct. 



Polygonum punctatum leptostachyum (Meisn.) Small, Bull. Torr. Club, 19:356. 1892. , 

 Polygonum acre var. leptostachyum Meisn. in DC. Prodr. 14: 108. 1856. 



Rather smaller; stem slender, i-2 long; leaves narrower; racemes very slender and much in- 



