RUMEX. ] POL YGONA CE^E. 349 



Sub-sp. R. PALUS'TRIS, Sm. ; whorls laxer usually distinct fewer-fld., inner 

 fruiting sepals oblong triangular or rhomboid, teeth shorter usually fewer, 

 fruit much larger. R. Sttin'ii, Becker. 



** Inner fruiting sepals quite entire or minutely toothed. 

 f One or all the inner sepals with a prominent tubercle on the midrib. 



5. R. cris'pus, L. ; leaves lanceolate or oblong-lanceolate subacute 

 much waved and crisped, panicle leafy below, inner fruiting sepals oblong- 

 ovate or cordate obtuse subentire, upper with a broad smooth tubercle. 



Waste places, N. to Shetland ; ascends to 2,000 ft. in ISTorthumbd. ; Ireland ; 

 Channel Islands; fl. June-Oct. Perennial, glabrous or puberulous. Stem 

 1-3 ft., branched. Leaves 6-10 in., base obtuse rounded or acute ; petiole 

 moderate. Panicle with erect branches ; whorls crowded ; pedicels jointed 

 at the base, twice as long as the fruiting sepal or shorter. Fruiting sepals 

 -J in., green or reddish, reticulate ; inner entire or crenulate ; tubercle 

 small, smooth. Fruit brown. DISTRIB. Europe, N. Africa, temp. Asia; 

 introd. in N. America. 



VAR. triyranula'ta, Syme, has the panicle very dense, branches short 

 appressed, inner fruiting sepals all tubercled. Orkney, Annan, Fife. VAR. 

 subcorda'ta, Warren, has a lax panicle, and inner fruiting sepals larger and 

 more triangular. Lewes. 



R. elonga'tus, Guss., is a var. with flat leaves and laxer panicles from wet 

 places by the Thames and Wye ; it attains 6 ft. 



6. R. sanguin'eus, L. ; leaves oblong-lanceolate fiddle-shaped sparingly 

 waved, base of panicle leafy, inner fruiting sepals oblong obtuse base 

 rounded entire, upper (or all) with a large smooth tubercle. 



Roadsides and hedges from Isla and Elgin southd. ; ascends to 1,200 ft. 

 in York; Ireland; Channel Islands; fl. July Aug. Perennial, glabrous. 

 Stem 1-4 ft., slender, simple or sparingly branched. Leaves 6-10 in., base 

 usually cordate, nerves red or green (R. vir'idis, Sibth. ; R. nemoro'sus, 

 Schrad.) ; petiole shorter. Panicle lax, usually leafless ; whorls distant, 

 many-fld. ; pedicels usually equalling the fruiting sepals, rarely twice as 

 long, jointed at the base. Fruiting sepals oblong or oblong-lanceolate ; 

 tubercle on the outer larger, subglobose, on the others small or 0. Fruit 

 brown, shining. DISTRIB. Europe, W. Asia ; introd. in N. America. 



7. R. conglomera'tus, Murray ; leaves oblong-lanceolate base rounded 

 or cordate, panicle leafy almost to the top, inner fruiting sepals linear- 

 oblong subacute rounded at the base quite entire, all with oblong tubercles. 

 R. acu'tus, Sm. and L. Herb. 



Wet meadows and waste places, from Skye and Aberdeen southd. ; Ireland 

 Channel Islands ; fl. June-Oct. Closely allied to R. sanguirieus, differing in 

 the leaves never contracted above the base, pedicels jointed below the 

 middle, longer tubercles, and in the characters given above. DISTRIB. 

 Europe, N. Africa, W. Asia ; introd. in N. America. 



R^rupesftris, Le Gall, is a more upright var. with panicle tapering, root- 

 leaves narrower, bracts few and narrow, fruiting sepals larger more obtuse. 

 Sea coasts, Sussex to Cornwall ; Channel Islands. 



