348 POLYGONACE^E. [RUMEX. 



tubercle red or brown. DISTRIB. Europe, N. Africa, N. and W. Asia, 

 N.W. India ; introd. in N. America. 



R. obtusifo'lius proper (R. Fries'ii, Gren. and Godr.) ; inner sepals with spread- 

 ing subulate teeth, oblong one tubercled, apex entire. VAR. R. sylves'tris, 

 Wallr. ; all the inner sepals tubercled nearly entire in fruit. Thames at 

 Putney. 



2. R. acu'tus, L. ; radical leaves linear or oblong-lanceolate waved, 

 panicle leafy below, inner fruiting sepals unequal triangular or cordate 

 with short broad teeth near the top, upper with an ovoid or lanceolate 

 tubercle. R. pralen'sis, Mert. and Koch. 



lioadsides, &c., from Orkney southd. ; ascends to 1,200 feet in N. England ; 

 fl. June-July. Similar to R. obtusifo'lius, but leaves narrower, and fruiting 

 inner sepals much broader, with more and shorter teeth. Syme and Koch 

 regard it as a hybrid between R. ems' pus and obtusifo'lius ; Watson as a 

 medley of intermediate forms. DISTRIB. Europe from the Alps northd., 

 Spain. 



R. consper'sus, Hartm., found in a few Scotch counties from Orkney to 

 Berwick, differs only in the more crisped leaves and equal inner fruiting 

 sepals. 



3. R. pul'cher, L. ; leaves oblong- cor date or fiddle-shaped obtuse, 

 upper acute, panicle leafy to the top, inner fruiting sepals oblong deeply- 

 toothed to above the middle, tubercle oblong often muricate. Fiddle 

 Dock. 



Waste places in dry soil from N". Wales and Notts southd. ; Ireland ; Channel 

 Islands ; fl. June-Oct. Biennial or perennial, glabrous or nearly so. Stem 6- 

 24 in., flexuous; branches slender, spreading, tips often decurved. Leaves &~-6 in.., 

 soon withering, always contracted above the base, crenulate ; petiole slender. 

 Panicle with spreading branches, whorls remote ; pedicels stout, shorter 

 than the fruiting sepals, jointed below the middle. Fruiting sepals % in., 

 pale, obtuse truncate or cuneate at the base, deeply pitted and reticulate ; 

 teeth short, straight. Fruit ^ s in. DISTRIB. From Belgium southd. 

 N. Africa, W. Asia. 



4. R. marit'imus, L. ; leaves linear- or oblong-lanceolate, panicle 

 leafy to the top, inner fruiting sepals triangular or rhomboid acuminate, 

 teeth 2-4 very long, tubercle linear-oblong very tumid. Golden Dock. 

 Marshes, &c., rare, from Northumbd. to Kent and Somerset ; Ireland ; Channel 



Islands ; fl. July-Aug. Biennial, puberulous, yellow-green. Stem 1-2 ft. ; 

 branches ascending. Leaves 3-10 in., base acute obtuse or cuneate, shortly 

 petioled, margins slightly waved. Panicle with spreading densely flowering 

 branches, whorls often confluent ; pedicels jointed at the base, variable in 

 length/ rarely twice as long as the fruiting sepals, which are reticulate, y^-f 

 in., orange-yellow, spines as long; tubercle often almost concealing the sepal. 

 Fruit small, pale chestnut. DISTRIB. Europe, N. and W. Asia, N.W. India, 

 N. America. R. Knaf'i, Celak, is a hybrid with conylomera'tus of which only 

 a single specimen has been seen ; it was first figured as R. marit'imus, L. 

 (forma hybrida ?) Warren'ii, by Trimeu in Journ. Bot. iii. 161, t. 146. 

 II. MARIT'IMUS proper ; whorls confluent, inner fruiting sepals triangular, teeth 

 often longer than the sepal. 



