POLYGONACEAE 



BUCKWHEAT FAMILY 



CLIMBING FALSE BUCKWHEAT 



Polygonum siandcns L. 



The Climbing P'alse Buckwheat is a common vine in woods 

 and thickets throughout most o\ the eastern half of the United 

 States and Canada. It blooms from July to September and is 

 usually loaded with fruit in 

 autumn. 



The smooth stem is often 20 

 feet long, and much like the genus 

 Polyzonatum^ page 59, the many 

 joints account for the generic 

 name, from the Greek meaning 

 knee. It dies to the ground in 

 winter but the under- 

 ground parts are per- 

 ennial. Leaves are 

 heart shaped and 

 acuminate. 



The \'ellowish 

 green flowers are in 

 leafy racemes. There 

 is no corolla but there 

 is a 5-parted calyx 

 the 3 outer segments 

 of which are strongly 

 winged and extend 

 down the flower stalk. 



There are 8 stamens and i pistil with 3 stigmas and almost no 

 style. The fruit is a 3-angled akene which is black or very dark, 

 smooth and shining. 



The Black Bindweed, Polygonum Convolvulus L., is a closely 

 related but annual plant which is common on cultivated and waste 

 ground — a troublesome weed. Its stems are usually not more than 

 3 feet long. 



The Water Smartweed, Polygonum Muhtenbergii (Meisn.) Wats., 

 bears several to many spikes of rose flowers on leafy stems 2-3 teet 

 high. They grow in colonies in muddy or dry places and their under- 

 ground stems form such dense mats that a patch once started is 

 most difficult to eradicate. 



79 



