POLYGONUM 



varieties, as var. variegitum, Hort.,with foliage marked 

 with vellowish white, and var. ptimilum, Hort., with 

 compact haljit and the stature half that of the type. 



4. Persicaria, Linn. Lady's Thumb. Fig. 1879. One 

 of the Smartweeds, but sold by seedsmen as a suitable 

 plant for backgrounds; glabrous or nearly so, erector 

 somewhat diffuse, 1-2 ft. tall: Ivs. lance- 

 olate to linear-lanceolate, slightly cili- 

 ate, usually with a triangular or cres- 

 cent-shaped spot near the middle of the 

 blade ( whence the name Lady's Thumb ) : 

 sheaths short, hairy on the margin : tls. 

 in short spikes, pink or greenish purple, 

 the stamens 6 and the akene lenticular 

 or triquetrous. Ku. — Naturalized every- 

 where about dwellings. 



5. arenirium, Waldst. & Kit. (P. He- 

 gaiis, Ten.). Dwarf species with slen- 

 der wiry branches and long internodes: 

 Ivs. small, linear-lanceolate, l-nerved, 

 bearing great numbers of little whitish 

 Hs. along the stem, the terminal clusters 

 leafless. S. Eu.-Offered in Calif., for 

 rockeries and bouquets. 

 BB. Perfttnial plants of various liahit, 

 Hsualli/ with strong rootstocks. 

 c. yalh;' xmartwint-like plants, some- 

 tiiins i.ffrnil for naturalising in 



POLYGONUJl 



1393 



1879. 



Lady's Thumb 



— Polyeonum 



llueh reduced. 



6. amphibium, Linn. Much spreading 

 id creeping, rooting at the joints, at 

 ■st more or less pubescent but be- 

 coming glabrous with age: Ivs. rather thickish and 

 large, oblong, elliptic or lance-elliptic, mostly obtuse or 

 very nearly so: sheaths short, usually not fringed or 

 bordered at the summit: tls. light ro.secolored, in a 

 short, dense, terminal spike, the stamens 5 and ex- 

 serted, and the akene lenticular. In water or bogs, 

 across the continent. -When growing in water, the 

 floating leaves become long-petioled. 



7. Hirtwrightii, Gray. Differs from the last in hav- 

 ing many narrow-lanceolate Ivs., bordered and fringed 

 sheaths, and hispid stems. Muddy places, across the 

 continent. 



margin 

 long am 

 large, in 



nd crenulate, long-acuminate : sheaths 



ir la.-iTate: fls. rose-red or white, rather 

 liinu' peduncled spikes 2-6 in. long, the 

 i\MTted, the akene trigonous. Hima- 



I u> KI.OOO ft. altitude. B.R. 25:46. B.M. 



ileiit border perennial, blooming in mid- 

 tb.1t have been 



laya, tr..iii il 

 6500. - An e; 



summer. Some, at least, of the plant! 

 cult, as Mountain Fleece are a native 

 emersum), which grows nearly th 

 America, including Mexico 

 Ell. -Fls. while or greeniih 

 cemes planti not 

 (More or iess 1 i 

 11. Sldboldi DeVne f 

 Willd. P / 





D. fVliole plant white-woolly. 



8. lanigerum, R. Br. Stems thick, creeping at the 

 b.ise, but the tops erect and standing 2-5 ft. high, much 

 branched: Ivs. narrow-lanceolate and more or less re- 

 curved, acuminate, covered with down of the color of 

 olcl silver: sheaths short, not ciliate: fls. small, red or 

 copper-colored (varying to white), in racemes on slender 

 forking peduncles, the stamens fi. and the akene flat and 

 shining black. Tropics of Old World and, according to 

 Hooker, of America. K.H. 1801, p. 567.-Lately intro- 

 duced for subtropical gardening, and not yet tested in 

 the North. It probably will not endure northern winters 

 even with good protection, but it is readily propagated 

 each year from cuttings taken from plants carried over 

 winter for that purpose. 



DD. Wliole plant green or grayish, not white-woolly. 



E. Fls. pink or red (sometimej varying to white), in 



erect spikes: plants grown for their flowers. 



9. atflne, Don (P. Brunbnis, Wall.). Tufted gla- 

 brous plant, with flowering stems 1 ft. or less high. 

 from a woody prostrate rootstock: Ivs. mostly radical, 

 oblanceolate to spatulate to lance-oblong : sheaths 

 rather long, split or entire: fls. bright rose-red, in 

 dense, erect, terminal spikes 2-3 in. long, the stamens 

 8, the akene trigonous. Himalaya, at elevations of 9,000 

 to 14,000 ft. B.M. 6472.-An excellent little plant for 

 cool places, blooming in autumn. 



10. amplexicaille, Don (P. oxifphijllum, Wall. P. spe- 

 eidsiim, Meisn. P. miiltifUriim, Hort.), Mountain 

 Fleece. Strong-growing tufted green-sterametl plant 

 2-3 ft. tall, from a woody rootstock: Ivs. cordate-ovate 

 to cordate-lanceolate, short-petioled or clasping, the 



Y 



1880 Polygonum Sieboldi (P cuspidatum) (X J^). 



pointed, the strong side nerves uniting in marginal 

 loops: sheaths short and flaring, deciduous: fls. small 

 and whitish, very numerous in slender-panicled ra- 

 cemes, the stamens 8. and the akene trigonous. Japan. 

 B.M. 6.i03. R.H. 1858, p. O.il ; 1894, p. 54. Gn. 26, p. 

 317; 49, p. 238. -A very efffctive plant for bold mass 

 effects, perfectly hardy in the northern states, and now 

 frequently planted. It is everywhere known in the 

 trade as P. rnspiilatum. It produces clouds of bloom. 

 Var. compactum is cult. 



12. SaohaIln6nse, Schmidt. Sacaline. Fig. 1881. 

 Exceedingly vigorous plants, spreading rapidly from 

 the tips of strong underground shoots, the reddish gla- 

 brous dead stalks often standing 8-12 ft. high through 

 the winter: Ivs. very large, frequently 1 ft. or more 



