212 POLYGONUM BISTORTA 



florescence, 1 2 inches long. Perianth about J inch long, tubular, 

 compressed antero-posteriorly, of 5 oval, obtuse, pale pink, smooth 

 leaves, slightly connected at the base, imbricate, two exterior. 

 Stamens 8, hypogynous, but attached to the base of the perianth, 

 placed 3 opposite two of the inner perianth leaves, 2 opposite the 

 other, those opposite the centre of each of the 3 inner perianth 

 leaves inserted by a broad, flattened, red base adherent for some 

 distance up, much exserted; filaments slender, white; anthers 

 small, versatile, purple. Ovary very small, trigonous; styles 3, 

 distinct, filiform, shorter that the stamens. Fruit a small, 

 indehiscent, triquetrous, dark-brown, shining, pointed nut, a little 

 exceeding the withered perianth, and containing a single erect 

 seed. Seed completely filling the fruit ; embryo lateral, curved ; 

 radicle superior ; endosperm mealy. 



Habitat. This is a well-known plant, though scarcely common, 

 in moist or swampy meadows and on the borders of damp 

 woods, throughout Great Britain, but is thought to be introduced 

 in many localities. When once established it is with great 

 difficulty eradicated, the leaves frequently forming large patches 

 year after year without any flowering-stems being sent up. The 

 Bistort has a wide range throughout the Northern Hemisphere, 

 reaching from the arctic regions of Europe, Asia, and America 

 to South Europe, the Himalayas and Canada. Arctic specimens 

 only 4 or 5 inches high. 



Meisner, 1. c., p. 125; Hook, f., Stud. PL, p. 307; Syme, E. Bot., 

 viii, p. 78; Wats., Comp. Cyb. Br., p. 298; Ledebour, PI. 

 Boss., iii, p. 518; Hook., PI. Bor.-Amer., ii, p. 130; Lindl., PI. 

 Med., p. 361. 



Part Used and Name. BISTOETJI EADIX ; the dried rhizome 

 or root. It is not official in the British Pharmacopoeia, or the 

 Pharmacopoeia of India, or the Pharmacopoeia of the United States. 

 But it was formerly official in the Dublin Pharmacopoeia. 



General Characters and Composition. Bistort root, or more 

 properly Bistort rhizome, derives its name from being commonly 

 twice folded or twisted on itself, and hence this character is one 

 of its most marked peculiarities. It is cylindrical, somewhat flat- 



