l62 CONNECTICUT GEOL. AND NAT. HIST. SURVEY, [BuIL 



Polygonum Hydropiper L. (its classical name). 



Common Smartweed or Water Pepper. Bite-tongue. 

 Frequent. Open wet rich soil. July — Oct. 

 In popular use medicinally, and in veterinary practice as a 

 counter-irritant. 



Polygonum acre HBK. (acrid; biting). 



Polygonum punctatum Ell. 



Smartweed. Water Smartweed. 



About ponds, pools, swamps and wet places, especially in 



woods and shaded situations. Southington, rare (Bissell, 



Andrews) ; frequent in the southern part of the state. July — 



Sept. 



Medicinal like Polygonum Hydropiper. 

 Polygonum acre HBK., var. leptostachyum Meisn. (slender- 

 spiked). 



Polygonum punctatum Ell., var. leptostachyum Small. 



Rare or local. Shallow water about ponds, swamps and 



banks of streams: Waterford (Graves), Lyme (Bissell), East 



Hartford and Simsbury (Weatherby), Southington (Andrews, 



Bissell), Stratford (Eames), Waterbury (Andrews). July — 



Sept. 



Polygonum orientale L. (eastern). 



Ragged Sailor. Kiss-me-over-the-Fence. Prince's Feather. 



Rare or occasional. Waste places as an escape from old 

 gardens. July — Sept. Adventive from India. 



An old-fashioned plant still frequent in cultivation. 



Polygonum Persicaria L. (like a Peach-tree; referring to the 

 shape of the leaves). 

 Lady's Thumb. Heartweed. Heart's-ease. Pinkweed. Red- 

 shank. 



Common. Cultivated grounds, fields, roadsides and waste 

 places. June — Oct. Naturalized from Europe. 

 Sometimes a troublesome weed. Medicinal. 



Polygonum hydropiperoides Michx. (like Polygonum Hydro- 

 piper, the Water Pepper). 

 Smartweed. Water Smartweed. Mild Water Pepper. 



