RUMEX 



As a genus, Rumex is closely allied to Fagop yrum , the 

 buckwheats, Rheum, the rhubarbs, and Polygonum, the 

 jointweeds. They are mostly leafy-stemmed plants, with 

 small flowers in panicles, the pedicels mostly in whorls 

 and jointed; fls. perfect or imperfect, with 6-parted 

 calyx, the 3 inner lobes larger and generally one or all 

 of them bearing a grain or tubercle near the center; 

 stamens 6; stigmas 3: fr. a 3-sided often margined or 

 winged akene. In the larger species the stems are 

 grooved and hollow. Most of them are erect-growing 

 plants. See Doch and Sorrel. 



A. Docks: Ivs. not hastate: fls. perfect, or at least not 



dioecious. 



B. Wings of calyx not tubercle-hearing. 



vendsus, Pursh. Perennial, IJ-^ ft. or less tall, gla- 

 brous, branched: Ivs. oblong-ovate or ovate-lanceolate, 

 usually tapering at both ends, entire, the stipular 

 sheaths (ocresel funnelform and prominent 

 fr. large and thin, entire, 1 in.- or more 

 veined and showy, the pedicels hanging in fruit. Mo., 

 west.— Recently offered as an ornamental plant, because 

 of the very showy wide-winged fruiting caliees. 



hymenosSpalus, Torr. (i?. Sdxel, Kellogg) 

 Casaigke. Raiz Colokada. Erect, reac' ' 

 3 ft., glabrous, the root of clustered fusi- 

 form tubers: Ivs. oblong-lanceolate, some- J^A 

 times 1 ft. long, narrow at "^ '^ 



either end. short-petioled, en- 

 tire, gray-green, somewhat mot- 

 tled beneath: fls. perfect, large, 

 in crowded panicles, green : 

 fruiting calyx-lobes 5^3 in. across, brown, en 

 tire, veiny, the pedicels drooping. Indiai 

 Terr, and Tex. to Calif. B.M. 7433. -"Leaf 

 stalks used as rhubarb, for whicl 

 known also as pie-plant in California." Fran- 

 eeschi. The plant has some ornamental 

 value, but is of great economic importance as a tannin- 

 producing plaut. The tannin is secured from the dahlia- 

 like roots. For literature on the economic uses of the 

 plant, consult reports of experiment stations in Ariz., 

 Calif., and elsewhere. 



occident&lis, Wats. Stout perennial, reaching 3 ft., 

 glabrous: Ivs. lanceolate to ovate-lanceolate, more or 

 less wavy-margined, obtuse or nearly so, the base sub- 

 cordate, long-stalked: wings of the fr. subtriangular, 

 somewhat toothed, veiny, brown, /^ in. across. Labrador 

 across the continent, descending along the Rocky Mts. 

 and reaching Texas. — Once introduced as an ornanipiital 

 subject, because of its profuse and somewhai showy 

 fruiting calices. 



BB. Wings of calyx bearing one or more tuherclcx. 



Patifintia, Linn. Herb Patience. Spinage Dock. 

 Tall, strong, erect, nearly simple plant, reaching 5 ft. 

 when in flower, glabrous : root-lvs. (Fig. 728, Vol. I) 

 elliptic-ovate, tapering both ways, the margins undulate, 

 the blade 8-12 in. long; stem-lvs. ovate-lanceolate, long- 

 acuminate, more or less rounded at the base: inflores- 

 cence long and compound (often 2 ft. long), dense in 

 fr. : wings cordate, about % in. across, veiny, entire, 

 one of them bearing a small tubercle near the base. Eu- 

 rope, but naturalized in many places. — An excellent 

 plant for greens, the strong root-lvs. being used in 

 early spring. Perennial. 



crispus, Linn. Curly Dock. Tall, often 3-3K ft.: 

 Ivs. long -lanceolate, wavy-margined, rounded at the 

 base: wings entire, the tubercles usually 3, the inflores- 

 cence not leafy. Naturalized from Europe, and now one 

 of the common Docks about yards and in old fields. — Not 

 cult., but the Ivs. sometimes used for greens. 



obtuaiifiliua, Linn. Bitter Dock. Also a common 

 weed: Ivs. much broader, very obtuse or even cordate at 

 base, obtuse at apex, not wavy-margined: wings long- 

 toothed, the tubercle usually 1, the inflorescence some- 

 what leafy below. Eu. 



AA. Sorrels: Ifs. mostly (at least the radical ones) 

 hastate or sagittate: fls. imperfect, the plants 



RUSH 



1591 



brous: root-lvs. thin and light green, oblong and obtuse, 

 with sharp auricles at the base (Fig. 729, Vol. I), the 

 petioles slender; stem-lvs. relatively narrow, acumi- 

 nate: inflorescence large and ample, the larger part of 

 the fls. sterile (plant sometimes dioecious): wings en- 

 tire or very nearly so, not over % in. across, cordate- 

 ovate, each with a callosity near the base, the outer 

 small scales reflexed. Eu. and Asia, and naturalized in 

 some places in this country.- Useful for early spring 

 greens, but later in foliage than It. Putientia. 



soutatus, Linn. French Soerel. Lower, with many 

 branching prostrate or ascending stems, glaucous: Ivs. 

 somewhat fleshy, the radical ones long-stalked and cor- 

 date-ovate-obtuse, the stem-lvs. short-stalked and has- 

 tate-fiddleform and acute or sometimes 3-lobed : wings 

 thin, cordate, without callosities. Eu., Asia.— Grown 

 in several varieties in Europe, 

 and sometimes cult, in this 

 country for greens. It is a 



ffMi^ 



Acetos^Ua, Linn. Common Field or Sheep Sorrel. 

 Common in all old fields, where it indicates sterile soil: 

 Ivs. oblong, from a hastate-lobed base: fls. reddish, in 

 erect racemes. Not cult., but the sour root-leaves are 

 sometimes used for greens. Eu. 



BB. Plant annual. 



rdseus, Linn. One to 2 ft., with spreading and 

 branched stems, glabrous and somewhat glaucous : Ivs. 

 small, deltoid-ovate, entire, short-pointed, truncate-cu- 

 neate or almost cordate at base : racemes short and leaf- 

 less or nearly so, the pedicels drooping in fr. : wings 

 <nnlate-orbicular, %-'% in. across, thin, rosy -veined, 

 witliout callosities. Egypt to Persia. — Rarely cult, as 

 an ornamental for its showy fruiting calices. 



L. H. B. 



RUPTUEE- WORT. Hern iaria. 



EttSCUS (an old Latin name). Lilidcea. Butcher's 

 Broom. A genus of possibly 3 species scattered over 

 Europe. Erect shrubs, with minute bract-like Ivs. 

 and branches (phyllodia) simulating leathery, per- 

 sistent, veined, sessile, leaf-like bodies: fls. small, 

 springing from tbe midrib of the lower surface of the 

 phyllodium. 



acule^tua, Linn. Shrub, 1K-3K ft. high: phyllodia 

 ovate-lanceolate, }4-l% in. long, tapering into a spiny 

 point: fls. 1-2, short-pedicelled: berry red, % in. thick. 

 Spring. Gn. 34, p. 231. R.H. 1894, p. 545.-Cult. in 

 Fla. and S. Calif. 



Bl.-inc, 7?. Hminnlossrim. Linn., has been 



neti 



Aceordin 

 highly com 

 This speci( 



Baker considers R. HypoKlcssuiii 

 ditferitig in ha%inK the costa uii 

 form of a large leafy bract lackiii 

 phyllocladium. In B.M. 2049 R. 

 minute white lis. and handsome r 



' subject. 



• of the 

 1, with 

 .thick. 



B. Plant perennial (i?. Acetosella sometimes annual 



Acet6sa, Linn. Garden Sorrel. Stem strong ar 



erect (3 ft. or more tall in fr.), furrowed, the plant gl 



F. W. Barclay. 



