POLYGONACER. 61 
valued that, according to Bory de St. Vincent, the tomb of its first cultivator there was, 
in his time, still pointed out to strangers as that of a benefactor to his kind. Though 
searcely worth ordinary cultivation in Britain, it is perhaps worthy of more attention 
in the drier parts of our island than it generally receives, especially on barren soils or 
lands recently reclaimed from heaths. As a green crop it has the advantage of not 
suffering from drought, remaining quite fresh long after the grass is everywhere 
burnt up. Bees are extremely fond of the flowers. In America, and some parts of 
Belgium, it is common to sow Buckwheat for the purpose of furnishing these insects 
with food, and many old writers recommend hives to be moved to the Buckwheat 
fields while crops are in full flower, as a certain means of increasing the quantity of 
honey. 
Section IJ.—TINIARIA. WMeisn. 
Stem branched, almost always twining. Leaves ovate or triangular- 
ovate, cordate or hastate or very rarely truncate at the base, palmately 
veined. Flowers in axillary fascicles, or the fascicles arranged in 
terminal racemes or panicles. Perianth accrescent. Stamens 8. 
Styles 3, very short. Embryo lateral; cotyledons narrow, foliaceous, 
and flat. 
SPECIES I—POLYGONUM CONVOLVULUS. Lin. 
Pirate MCCXXVIL, 
Billot, Fl. Gall. et Germ. No. 1054. 
Annual. Stem angular, twining or decumbent, branched. Leaves 
stalked, ovate or triangular-ovate, acuminate, cordate-sagittate or 
cordate-hastate, acute. Ochre truncate, not fringed. Flowers in 
lateral fascicles of 3 to 6 (rarely more), combined into terminal and 
axillary simple interrupted spikelike-racemes, leafy at the base. 
Pedicels recurved, shorter than the nut, articulated near the apex. 
Perianth herbaceous, roughened, 5-partite, enlarged in fruit, when the 
3 outer segments are bluntly keeled or rarely winged. Stamens 8. 
Styles 3, united for the greater part of their length. Nut oval- 
triquetrous or -trigonous, shagreened, opaque, black. Plant not 
glandular. 
Var. a, genuinum. 
Prats MCXLIV. 
Three outer segments of the perianth with blunt subherbaceous 
keels in fruit. Flowers 4 to 6 in each fascicle. 
Var. 8, Pseudo-dumetorum. Wats. 
Three outer segments of the perianth with broad membranous 
Wings in fruit. Flowers 5 to 10 in each fascicle. 
